8b 
ND 
237 
. T8 
W4 

1901 


W.6  CLARKE  Co 

00«St^ERS.iST*T,OKlPS 
ParK  St  Church . Boston. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/johntrumbullbrie00weir_0 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 


C_y. 


J.1UHMUJIT  '/I H O | 

rrauoj  uha  ocuav/  yh  ci-nvuA'i 

ni  i f x ^ 1 1 

?TJIA  3SJPC  3HT  K)  .lOOH'J*  IJAY 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

PAINTED  BY  WALDO  AND  JOUET' 
2 5 }^x32  U. 


YALE  SCHOOL  OF  THE  FINE  ARTS 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

A BRIEF  SKETCH 
OF  HIS  LIFE 

TO  WHICH  IS  ADDED 

A CATALOGUE  OF  HIS  WORKS 


Prepared  for  the  Committee  on 
the  Bi-Centennial  Celebration 
of  the  Pounding  of  Tale  College 

BY 

JOHN  F.  WEIR,  N.A.,  M.A. 

DIRECTOR  OF  THE  YALE  SCHOOL 
OF  THE  FINE  ARTS 


NEW  YORK 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER’S  SONS 
MDCCCCI 


COPYRIGHT,  1901 
BY  JOHN  F.  WEIR 


PUBLISHED 
OCTOBER,  1901 


PREFACE 


THE  following  sketch  of  the  life  and 
works  of  John  Trumbull  has  been 
prepared  at  the  request  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  the  Bi-Centennial  Celebration  of  the 
Founding  of  Yale  College,  in  connection  with 
an  exhibition  of  his  collected  paintings,  as  a 
feature  of  that  celebration,  and  to  “ emphasize 
the  position  of  Yale  University  as  the  principal 
custodian  of  Trumbull’s  historical  works.”  The 
“Trumbull  Gallery,”  since  1831,  when  it  came 
into  the  possession  of  Yale  College,  constitutes 
one  of  the  chief  treasures  of  the  University,  con- 
taining as  it  does  a series  of  historical  paintings 
commemorative  of  important  events  of  the 
American  Revolution,  including  a collection  of 


PREFACE 


portraits  of  prominent  persons  of  that  time, 
painted  from  life.  The  artist  served  for  a brief 
period  as  aide-de-camp  to  General  Washington, 
in  the  first  year  of  the  Revolution,  and  in  the 
succeeding  year  he  served  as  deputy  adjutant- 
general  under  the  command  of  Major-General 
Gates.  In  these  positions,  as  well  as  in  his  sub- 
sequent official  and  social  relations,  he  was 
brought  into  familiar  intercourse  with  many  of 
the  most  prominent  actors  in  the  War  of  Inde- 
pendence, being  himself  a son  of  Governor  Jon- 
athan Trumbull,  Sr.,  of  Connecticut.  Through 
his  prominent  connections,  therefore,  both  in 
Europe  and  America,  the  life  of  Trumbull 
has  peculiar  interest,  while  his  works  have  be- 
come a precious  legacy  to  the  succeeding  gen- 
erations. 

The  principal  sources  of  information  con- 
sulted in  the  preparation  of  the  following  mon- 
ograph were  the  “Autobiography,  Reminis- 
cences and  Letters  of  John  Trumbull”;  Dun- 
lap’s “History  of  the  Arts  of  Design”;  Tuck- 
erman’s  “Book  of  the  Artists,”  “Artist-Life,” 
and  “Memorial  of  Greenough”;  John  Durand’s 


VI 


PREFACE 


papers  on  Trumbull,  reprinted  from  the 
American  Art  Review;  papers  in  “The 
American  Journal  of  Science”  and  other  peri- 
odicals ; and  certain  manuscript  letters  of  Trum- 
bull, together  with  the  various  catalogues  of  his 
works,  published  in  1831,  1835,  1847,  1 852 
and  1864. 


CONTENTS 


JOHN  TRUMBULL:  Sketch  of  His 
Life  .....  3-46 


DESCRIPTIONS  OF  PAINTINGS  : 

47-65 


CATALOGUE  OF  HISTORICAL  PAINT- 
INGS, PORTRAITS,  MINIATURES, 
AND  OTHER  WORKS  OF  ART, 
BY  JOHN  TRUMBULL  . 66-79 


- - 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING 

Frontispiece:  John  Trumbull:  . Title 

Painted  by  Waldo  and  Jouett. 

Jonathan  Trumbull,  Sr.,  1793  : . 4 

Painted  by  John  Trumbull. 

Mrs.  Jonathan  Trumbull,  Sr.,  1793  : 6 

Miniature  by  John  Trumbull. 

Jonathan  Trumbull,  Jr.,  1792:  . 10 

Miniature  by  John  Trumbull. 

Benjamin  West:  . . . .14 

Painted  by  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence. 

Thomas  Jefferson  : ....  22 

From  Trumbull’s  “Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence.” 

John  Adams,  1792:  ....  24 

From  a miniature  by  Trumbull. 

President  Washington,  1793:  . 26 

By  Trumbull. 

John  Jay,  1793  : ....  32 

Attributed  to  Trumbull. 


XI 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING 

Alexander  Hamilton  : . .34 

Painted  by  Trumbull. 

Mrs.  John  Trumbull:  ...  38 

Painted  by  Trumbull. 

Bust  of  Trumbull:  ....  42 

By  Ball  Hughes. 

Battle  of  Bunker’s  Hill:  . . 49 

Painted  by  Trumbull. 

Death  of  Montgomery:  ...  52 

Painted  by  Trumbull. 

Sortie  from  Gibraltar  : . . .5 3 

Painted  by  Trumbull. 

Declaration  of  Independence  : . 55 

Painted  by  Trumbull. 

General  Washington  : . . .62 

Full-length  portrait  by  Trumbull. 

Surrender  of  Lord  Cornwallis  : . 68 

Painted  by  Trumbull. 

Resignation  of  Washington  : . .72 

Painted  by  Trumbull. 

Oil  Sketch  by  Trumbull  for  The 

Battle  of  Princeton:  . . 74 

Copy  of  Certificate  of  the  Order 

of  the  Cincinnati  : . . .80 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

TRUMBULL  begins  his  autobiography 
with  an  account  of  the  origin  of  the 
family  name,  connecting  the  New 
England  Trumbulls  with  the  Turnbulls  of  Scot- 
land, whose  heraldic  device  is  three  bulls’  heads, 
with  the  motto,  Fortuna  favet  audaci , said  to 
have  originated  in  the  rescue  of  the  king  of 
Scotland  from  the  attack  of  a bull,  by  a young 
peasant,  who  was  rewarded  with  an  estate  and 
coat  of  arms.  Trumbull  traces  his  immediate 
descent  from  John  Trumbull,  of  Rowley,  Essex 
Co.,  Mass.,  who  came  from  Cumberland,  or 
Lancashire,  England,  and  was  made  a freeman 
in  Boston,  in  1640,  whose  son  John  removed 
to  Suffield,  Conn.  One  of  the  sons  of  the  latter, 
Joseph,  settled  in  Lebanon,  and  this  person  was 
the  artist’s  grandfather,  born  in  1679.  His  son, 
Jonathan  Trumbull,  Sr.,  father  of  the  artist,  was 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

born  at  Lebanon  in  1710,  and  was  graduated 
from  Harvard  College  in  1727,  eventually  be- 
coming Governor  of  Connecticut.  He  was  the 
only  Colonial  Governor  who  held  office  during 
the  Revolution.  Washington  in  his  difficulties 
and  perplexities  at  a critical  period  of  the  war, 
when  seeking  reinforcements,  referred  in  a letter 
to  Governor  Trumbull  as  “ Brother  Jonathan,” 
thus  originating  a term  since  humorously  em- 
ployed in  personifying  the  nation. 

The  artist’s  mother,  Faith  Trumbull,  daugh- 
ter of  John  Robinson,  minister  of  Duxbury, 
Mass.,  was  the  great-granddaughter  of  John 
Robinson,  who  led  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  out  of 
England,  and  was  their  pastor  until  they  sailed 
from  Holland  for  the  new  world,  in  1620. 

John  Trumbull,  the  artist,  was  born  at  Leb- 
anon on  the  6th  of  June,  1756.  He  was  the 
youngest  of  six  children,  and  for  the  first  nine 
months  of  his  life  was  subject  to  almost  daily 
convulsions  caused  by  compression  of  the  brain, 
owing  to  the  overlapping  of  the  bones  of  the  cra- 
nium. By  the  mother’s  untiring  exertions  these 
were  eventually  reduced  to  their  proper  junc- 
tion in  the  sutures,  and  the  child  quickly  re- 
covered. 

At  the  time  that  John  was  old  enough  to 


JONATHAN  TRUMBULL,  SR. 
1 793 


GOVERNOR  OF  CONNECTICUT  DURING  THE 
REVOLUTION 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

begin  his  studies,  there  was  at  Lebanon  an  ex- 
cellent school  kept  by  Nathan  Tisdale,  a gradu- 
ate of  Harvard  College  and  a good  scholar.  The 
boy  John  showed  great  facility  in  acquiring 
knowledge,  particularly  languages,  and  “read 
Greek  at  six  years  of  age”:  this,  however,  he 
says,  was  but  the  knowledge  of  a parrot — mem- 
orized sounds  and  signs.  At  the  age  of  twelve 
he  was  qualified  to  enter  college,  for  he  had  read 
Eutropius,  Cornelius  Nepos,  Virgil,  Cicero, 
Horace  and  Juvenal,  in  Latin;  the  New  Testa- 
ment and  Homer’s  Iliad  in  Greek ; and  was  thor- 
oughly versed  in  Geography,  ancient  and  mod- 
ern. He  had  also  read  considerably  in  History, 
and  attained  some  proficiency  in  Mathematics, 
including  geometry,  trigonometry,  navigation 
and  surveying.  Lie  entered  Harvard  College  at 
the  age  of  fifteen,  in  the  middle  of  the  third, 
or  Junior  year,  and  was  able  to  master  his 
studies  so  easily  that  he  regarded  this  as  an  idle 
period  of  his  life. 

In  a letter  from  oneofhistutors, William  Knee- 
land,  to  Governor  Trumbull,  dated  Cambridge, 
14  July,  1 772,  the  following  comment  is  made: 
“I  find  he  [John]  has  a natural  genius  and  dis- 
position for  limning.  As  a knowledge  of  that 
art  will  probably  be  of  no  use  to  him  I submit 


5 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

to  your  consideration  whether  it  would  not  be 
best  to  endeavor  to  give  him  a turn  to  the  study  of 
perspective,  a branch  of  mathematics,  the  knowl- 
edge of  which  will  at  least  be  a genteel  accom- 
plishment, and  may  be  greatly  useful  in  future 
life.”  To  this  the  Governor  replied:  “I  am 

sensible  of  his  natural  genius  and  inclination  for 
limning ; an  art  I have  frequently  told  him  that 
will  be  of  no  use  to  him.”  While  at  Harvard 
College  he  filled  his  leisure  hours,  in  part,  with 
visits  to  a family  of  Acadian  exiles,  then  resid- 
ing in  Cambridge,  and  from  them  he  learned  to 
speak  the  French  language  fluently,  defraying 
the  expense  out  of  his  pocket  money.  He  had 
already  manifested  a strong  liking  for  art,  and 
while  at  Harvard  he  searched  the  library  for 
works  relating  to  the  Fine  Arts,  discovering 
Brooke  Taylor’s  'Jesuits'  Perspective , the  princi- 
ples of  which  he  mastered,  copying  all  the  dia- 
grams. But  what  enlisted  his  keenest  interest 
while  in  college  were  several  portraits  by  Cop- 
ley that  hung  in  the  philosophical  room,  where 
he  “ listened  with  pleasure  to  Dr.  Winthrop’s 
lectures.”  A collection  of  Piranesi’s  prints  from 
Roman  ruins  was  also  his  delight.  He  spent 
many  of  his  spare  hours,  while  an  undergradu- 
ate, in  making  copies  of  paintings,  one  of  which 


6 


MRS.  JONATHAN  TRUMBULL,  SR. 

PAINTED  AT  LEBANON,  1 793 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

was  commended  by  Copley.  In  July,  *77  3>he 
says,  he  “graduated  without  applause,  for  he 
was  not  a speaker.”  As  he  was  the  youngest 
boy  in  the  class,  having  entered  in  an  unusual 
way,  his  timidity  kept  him  in  the  background 
and  he  formed  few  intimate  acquaintances  ; in- 
deed, only  one,  Christopher  Gore,  of  a lower 
class,  whose  portrait,  now  in  the  Yale  collection, 
Trumbull  painted  at  a later  day,  when  Gore  was 
Governor  of  Massachusetts. 

On  his  return  to  Lebanon  he  made  his  first 
essay  in  original  composition,  in  a picture  of 
Paulus  JEmilius  at  the  Battle  of  Canute;  prepar- 
ing his  own  colors  and  inventing  the  other  re- 
quisites for  this  first  attempt.  Though  crude 
and  unskilful  in  design  and  workmanship  this 
picture  is  a kind  of  germ  of  his  future  perform- 
ances. His  old  friend,  Tisdale,  having  been 
disabled  by  a stroke  of  paralysis,  Trumbull  was 
induced  to  take  charge  of  his  school  of  seventy 
or  eighty  pupils,  including  “children  lisping 
their  A.  B.  C.’s,  and  young  men  preparing  for 
college,”  some  of  whom,  he  says,  were  older 
than  himself. 

In  the  summer  of  1774  the  angry  discus- 
sions between  Great  Britain  and  her  colonies 
began;  Trumbull  writes:  “As  the  low  growl- 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

ing  of  distant  thunder  announces  the  approach 
of  the  tempest,  so  did  these  discussions  give  no- 
tice that  a moral  storm  was  at  hand,  men  be- 
gan to  fear  that  these  questions  would  soon  be 
referred  to  the  decision  of  arms  ...  I caught 
the  growing  enthusiasm.  . . . My  father  was 
governor  of  the  colony,  and  a patriot,  and  of 
course  surrounded  by  patriots,  to  whose  ardent 
conversation  I listened  daily.”  He  formed  a 
small  company  from  among  the  young  men  of 
the  school  and  the  village,  and  drilled  them. 
Of  these  youthful  companions  several  became 
valuable  officers  in  the  war  which  soon  fol- 
lowed.* 

With  the  bursting  of  the  storm  at  Lexing- 
ton, General  Joseph  Spencer  formed,  “as  if  by 
magic,”  the  first  regiment  of  Connecticut  troops, 
of  which  John  Trumbull  was  made  adjutant. 
While  packing  his  things  preparatory  to  the 
march  of  the  regiment  to  Boston,  his  mother, 
who  was  assisting  him,  said,  “My  son,  when  I 
recollect  the  sufferings  of  your  infancy,  with 


* Among  them  was  Roger  Alden,  who  rose  to  the  rank  of  major 
and  died  at  West  Point.  He  was  the  father  of  Colonel  Bradford  R. 
Alden,  afterward  commandant  of  the  Corps  of  Cadets  at  the  Military 
Academy.  It  was  from  the  estate  of  Colonel  Alden’ s widow  that  Yale 
acquired  the  famous  Belgian  wood-carvings  that  now  form  part  of  the 
treasures  of  the  Art  School. 


8 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

your  present  feebleness  of  constitution,  and  anti- 
cipate the  hardships  and  dangers  to  which  you 
are  about  to  be  exposed,  I hardly  dare  hope 
that  we  shall  ever  meet  again ; however,  in  all 
events,  I charge  you  so  to  conduct  yourself,  that 
if  I ever  see  you  again  it  may  be  with  the  pride 
and  delight  of  a mother.” 

The  regiment  reached  the  vicinity  of  Boston 
early  in  May,  and  was  stationed  at  Roxbury,  in 
full  view  of  the  enemy’s  lines  at  the  entrance  to 
Boston.  “ The  entire  army,”  he  writes,  “ if  it 
deserved  the  name,  was  but  an  assemblage  of 
brave,  enthusiastic,  undisciplined  country  lads ; 
the  officers,  in  general,  quite  as  ignorant  of  mili- 
tary life  as  the  troops,  excepting  a few  elderly 
men  who  had  seen  some  irregular  service  among 
the  provincials  under  Lord  Amherst.” 

On  the  17th  of  June,  Trumbull  writes,  “ I 
was  out  at  daybreak,  visiting  the  piquet-guard  of 
the  regiment  posted  in  full  view  of  Boston  and 
the  bay  behind  it,  when  I was  startled  by  a gun 
fired  from  a sloop  of  war,  lying  at  anchor  be- 
tween the  town  and  Litchmere’s  point,  about 
where  the  Cambridgeport  bridge  now  is.  . . 
It  was  followed  by  another,  apparently  from 
the  Somerset,  sixty-four,  which  lay  between 
the  north  end  of  Boston  and  Charlestown.  It 


9 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

soon  became  evident  to  us  in  Roxbury  that  some 
movement  was  making  in  that  quarter,  but  we 
knew  not  what.  . . As  the  day  advanced,  the  fir- 
ing continued  to  increase,  and  our  anxiety  to  know 
the  cause  was  extreme,  when  at  length,  near  noon, 
we  learned  that  a detachment  from  Cambridge 
had  during  the  preceding  night  taken  post  on 
the  hill  behind  Charlestown  and  were  engaged 
in  throwing  up  a work.  They  had  been  dis- 
covered by  the  ships  at  daybreak  and  fired  upon. 

. . “It  was  about  three  o’clock  when  the  firing 
suddenly  increased,  and  became  very  heavy  and 
continuous  : with  the  help  of  glasses,  the  smoke 
of  firearms  became  visible  along  the  ridge  of 
the  hill,  and  fire  was  seen  to  break  out  among 
the  buildings  of  the  town,  which  soon  en- 
veloped the  whole  in  flames.  We  could  ascer- 
tain by  the  receding  of  the  smoke  on  the  ridge 
of  the  hill  that  our  troops  were  losing  ground, 
but  we  had  no  correct  information  of  the 
result  of  the  Battle  of  Bunker’s  Hill,  until  late 
at  night.” 

“ Not  long  after  that  memorable  day,”  he 
continues,  “General  Washington  arrived  and 
assumed  command  of  the  army.  A few  days  after 
his  arrival  I was  told  by  my  eldest  brother,  the 
commissary-general,  that  the  commander-in- 


ITXfp 


JONATHAN  TRUMBULL,  JR. 

i 792 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  AND 
AFTERWARDS  GOVERNOR  OF  CONNECTICUT 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

chief  was  very  desirous  of  obtaining  a correct 
plan  of  the  enemy’s  works  in  front  of  our  posi- 
tion, on  Boston  Neck;  and  he  advised  me  (as  I 
could  draw)  to  attempt  to  execute  a view  and 
plan,  as  a means  of  introducing  myself  (probably) 
to  the  favorable  notice  of  the  General.”  This 
he  did,  and  as  a result  it  led  to  his  promotion 
to  the  position  of  second  aide-de-camp  on  the 
general’s  staff.  The  following  is  copied  from 
General  Washington’s  order-book  : “July  27, 

1775.  John  Trumbull,  Esq.,  being  appointed 
Aid  de  Camp  to  his  Excellency  the  Commander 
in  Chief,  is  to  be  obeyed  as  such.” 

Trumbull  was  soon  after  made  Major  of 
Brigade;  and  when,  in  June,  1776,  General 
Gates  was  ordered  to  take  command  of  the 
“Northern  Department,”  then  vaguely  defined, 
but  supposed  to  include  Canada,  he  appointed 
Trumbull  deputy  adjutant-general,  with  the 
rank  of  Colonel;  and  Trumbull  accompanied 
him  to  Albany  and  Ticonderoga  in  that  capacity. 
General  Gates  had  been  instructed  to  appoint 
his  own  deputy  adjutant-general  and  deputy 
quartermaster-general,  so  that  Trumbull’s  ap- 
pointment by  Gates  was  official  and  quite  in 
order.  But  it  was  not  until  seven  months  later, 
namely,  February,  1 777,  that  John  Hancock, 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

President  of  Congress,  forwarded  to  him  his 
commission,  bearing  date  September  i 2,  1 776. 
Considering  the  discrepancy  between  the  date  of 
this  commission  from  Congress,  and  the  date  of 
his  appointment  by  General  Gates,  under  which 
appointment  he  had  actually  served  in  the  capacity 
of  deputy  adjutant-general,  Trumbull  regarded  it 
as  derogatory  to  his  military  pride  to  accept  the 
commission  tendered  him,  and  he  returned  it 
with  a brief  note  pointing  out  the  discrepancy. 

This  terminated  Trumbull’s  military  career 
so  far  as  his  official  standing  was  concerned.  At 
a later  day,  in  1778,  when  a project  was  formed 
for  the  recovery  of  Rhode  Island  from  the 
British,  Trumbull  offered  his  services  to  General 
Sullivan  as  a volunteer  aide-de-camp  and  his 
offer  was  accepted.  When  the  enterprise  failed 
he  returned  to  Lebanon,  and,  as  he  expressed  it, 
“resumed  his  pencil.”  It  was  undoubtedly  to 
his  own  and  to  his  country’s  advantage  that  his 
military  career  was  checked  at  this  early  day  ; 
nevertheless  his  military  experience,  brief  though 
it  was,  may  be  considered  an  important  factor 
in  his  preparation  for  the  commemorative  works 
that  afterward  were  to  engage  his  powers  as  an 
artist ; for  he  painted  the  Battle  of  Bunker  s Hill 
and  the  Death  of  Montgomery  with  the  under- 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

standing  of  one  not  unfamiliar  with  the  spirit  of 
his  themes. 

Later  in  the  year,  1 777,  he  went  to  Boston, 
“ that  he  might  pursue  his  studies  in  art  to 
greater  advantage.”  There  he  rented  a studio 
which  had  been  built  by  Smibert,  and  found  in 
it  several  studies  made  by  that  artist  from  cele- 
brated pictures  in  Europe;  these  he  proceeded 
to  copy,  having  found  that  Copley  had  gone 
abroad  and  that  there  remained  no  one  in  Bos- 
ton who  could  give  him  instruction.  During 
the  winter  of  1777  and  ’78  he  says,  “a  club 
was  formed  of  young  men  fresh  from  college, 
among  whom  were  Rufus  King,  Christopher 
Gore,  William  Eustis,  Royal  Tyler,  Thomas 
Dawes  and  Aaron  Dexter — all  of  whom  became 
distinguished.”  The  club  met  in  Trumbull’s 
room,  “ regaling  themselves  with  tea  instead  of 
wine  and  discussing  literature,  politics  and  war.” 

While  in  Boston  he  became  acquainted  with 
John  Temple,  afterwards  knighted  and  made 
consul-general  of  Great  Britain  in  New  York, 
who  seemed  to  be  regarded  by  both  parties  as  a 
neutral,  and  was  occasionally  permitted  to  pass 
from  one  side  to  the  other.  He  married  a 
daughter  of  Governor  Bowdoin,  and  had  high 
connections  in  England.  As  Mr.  Temple 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

was  acquainted  with  Benjamin  West,  in  London, 
he  strongly  urged  Trumbull  to  go  abroad  and 
study  under  that  artist ; and  in  fact  he  paved  the 
way  for  this  after  his  return  to  England. 

In  May,  1780,  Trumbull  sailed  for  Nantes 
“in  a French  ship  of  twenty-eight  guns,”  and  on 
his  arrival  spent  a brief  time  in  Paris  where  he 
became  acquainted  with  Dr.  Franklin  and  his 
grandson,  Temple  Franklin;  also  with  John 
Adams  and  his  son,  John  Quincy  Adams,  “then 
a boy  of  fourteen.”  Franklin  gave  him  a letter 
of  introduction  to  West,  and  he  set  out  for  Lon- 
don. He  was  kindly  received,  and  installed  as  a 
pupil,  and  there  he  met  Gilbert  Stuart.  On 
Trumbull’s  first  essay  Mr.  West  pronounced  him 
“ evidently  intended  by  nature  for  a painter.” 
He  had  hardly  begun  his  studies  under  West 
when,  on  November  15,  1780,  the  news  ar- 
rived in  London  of  the  treason  of  Arnold  and 
the  death  of  Major  Andre.  Trumbull  says: 
“ Major  Andre  had  been  the  deputy  adjutant- 
general  of  the  British  Army  and  I a deputy  ad- 
jutant-general in  the  American  Army;  ” it 
seemed  proper,  therefore,  that  Trumbull  should 
be  taken  into  custody  and  a warrant  was  im- 
mediately issued  for  his  arrest. 

When  Mr.  West  heard  of  this  he  went  im- 


14 


BENJAMIN  WEST 

PAINTED  BY  SIR  THOMAS  LAWRENCE 


WADSWORTH  ATHEN/FUM,  HARTFORD,  CONNECTICUT 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

mediately  to  Buckingham  House  and  gained  an 
audience  with  the  King,  who  said,  “ I am  sorry 
for  the  young  man,  but  he  is  in  the  hands  of  the 
law,  and  must  abide  the  result — I cannot  inter- 
pose. But,”  he  added,  “ tell  Mr.  Trumbull  that 
in  the  worst  possible  event  of  the  law,  his  life 
shall  be  safe.”  Trumbull  remained  in  prison 
for  seven  months.  Mr.  West  supplied  him  with 
painting  materials  and  loaned  him  his  own  fine 
copy  of  a Correggio,  of  which  Trumbull  pro- 
ceeded to  make  a fac-simile,  which  he  finished 
in  prison  during  the  winter  of  1780-81.  He 
was  finally  released  on  bail,  on  condition  that  he 
should  leave  the  Kingdom  within  thirty  days  and 
not  return  until  after  peace  had  been  declared. 
Mr.  West  and  Mr.  Copley  became  his  sureties. 
He  immediately  left  for  Holland,  where  he  was 
joined  by  Mr.  Temple.  At  Amsterdam  he  found 
his  letters,  among  them  a packet  from  his  father 
giving  him  authority  and  instructions  to  negoti- 
ate a loan  in  Holland  for  the  State  of  Connecti- 
cut; but  this,  on  consultation  with  Mr.  Adams, 
he  found  was  impracticable. 

Trumbull’s  description  of  his  voyage  home, 
which  was  exceedingly  hazardous,  is  told  in  his 
autobiography  with  considerable  literary  power. 
On  his  return  he  became  a contractor  for  army 


15 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

supplies,  and  in  this  capacity  he  was  at  Wash- 
ington’s headquarters  at  New  Windsor  on  the 
Hudson,  during  the  winter  of  1782—83.  And 
here,  he  writes,  “ we  received  the  news  of  the  sign- 
ing of  the  preliminary  articles  of  peace,  and  an 
end  was  thus  put  to  all  further  desultory  pur- 
suits. It  was  now  necessary  for  me  to  deter- 
mine upon  a future  occupation  for  life.” 

There  was  a commercial  side  to  Trumbull’s 
character,  and  he  now  considered  proposals  for 
engaging  in  mercantile  affairs.  While  in  college 
his  father  had  wished  him  to  enter  the  ministry ; 
now  he  wanted  him  to  enter  the  legal  profes- 
sion. On  his  expressing  his  decided  preference 
for  art,  “ dwelling  on  the  honors  paid  to  artists 
in  Greece  and  Athens,”  his  father  replied,  “Yes, 
my  son,  but  you  appear  to  forget  that  Connecti- 
cut is  not  Athens.”  Nevertheless  he  now  reached 
a final  decision,  and  thence  on  his  career  is  prin- 
cipally that  of  an  artist. 

He  again  sailed  for  London  in  January, 
1784,  and  went  immediately  to  Mr.  West,  in 
whose  home  he  remained  as  a pupil.  His  father 
had  given  him  a letter  to  Edmund  Burke  thank- 
ing him  for  the  kindness  shown  his  son  while 
in  prison.  Burke  advised  him  to  study  architec- 
ture, for,  said  he,  “you  must  be  aware  that  you 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

belong  to  a young  nation  which  will  soon  want 
buildings,  and  these  must  be  erected  before  the 
decorations  of  painting  and  sculpture  will  be  re- 
quired.” He  counselled  Trumbull  to  study 
architecture  thoroughly  and  scientifically,  in 
order  to  qualify  himself  “to  superintend  the 
erection  of  these  buildings,”  adding — “ decorate 
them  also,  if  you  will.” 

Burke  being  the  friend  of  Sir  Joshua  Rey- 
nolds, and  learning  of  Trumbull’s  predilection 
for  history  and  his  intention  to  study  with  West, 
did  not  regard  this  preference  with  cordiality. 
But  Trumbull  resumed  his  studies  in  West’s 
studio,  and  in  the  evenings  drew  at  the  Academy. 
He  made  a copy  of  West’s  picture  of  the  Battle 
of  La  Hague , and  this  task,  he  says,  was  of  the 
greatest  importance  to  him. 

In  the  autumn  of  1785  he  was  invited  by 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Preston,  of  Chevening,  in  Kent, 
to  pass  a week  at  his  house.  The  library  of 
Mr.  Preston  (which  was  eventually  bequeathed 
to  the  library  in  Philadelphia)  “ was  rich  in 
works  relating  to  the  arts,”  and  these  Trumbull 
studied  attentively.  Here,  he  says,  he  “ made 
his  first  attempt  at  the  composition  of  a mili- 
tary scene,  taken  from  the  War  of  the  Revolu- 
tion; it  was  a small  sketch  in  India  ink,  on 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

paper,  of  the  death  of  General  Frazer  at  Bemus’s 
Heights.” 

He  continued  his  studies  under  West,  and  at 
the  Academy,  and  “ began  to  meditate  seriously 
the  subjects  of  national  history,  events  of  the 
Revolution,”  which,  he  adds,  “became  the  great 
object  of  my  life.”  The  death  of  General  War- 
ren at  the  Battle  of  Bunker’s  Hill,  and  of  Gen- 
eral Montgomery  in  the  attack  on  Quebec,  were 
first  decided  upon.  These,  he  says,  “ were  the 
earliest  important  events  in  point  of  time,  and  I 
not  only  regarded  them  as  highly  interesting 
passages  of  history,  but  felt  that  in  painting  them 
I should  be  paying  a just  tribute  of  gratitude  to 
the  memory  of  eminent  men  who  had  given 
their  lives  for  their  country.” 

These  pictures  were  both  painted  in  West’s 
studio.  On  one  occasion  as  a party  of  Mr. 
West’s  friends  were  assembling  to  dine  with  the 
artist,  the  party  including  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds, 
the  latter  on  entering  the  studio  hastily  went  for- 
ward to  the  picture  that  stood  on  the  easel,  Mr. 
West  having  placed  Trumbull’s  Battle  of  Bunker  s 
Hill , then  nearly  completed,  where  it  could  be 
seen  to  advantage  and  in  a good  light.  Sir 
Joshua,  mistaking  it  for  West’s  performance, 
praised  it  highly ; to  which  the  host  replied, 

18 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

“You  mistake,  Sir  Joshua,  this  is  not  mine;  it 
is  the  work  of  this  young  gentleman,  Mr.  Trum- 
bull.” Sir  Joshua,  Trumbull  says,  was  some- 
what disconcerted. 

Mr.  West  watched  the  progress  of  these  two 
pictures  with  great  interest  and  encouraged  the 
young  artist  to  persevere  in  the  work  of  the  his- 
tory of  the  American  Revolution,  recommend- 
ing that  he  should  have  the  series  engraved,  and 
explaining  to  him  all  the  details  necessary  for 
this.  Through  Mr.  Poggi,  the  publisher,  the 
scheme  was  projected,  but  it  was  found  that 
there  was  no  engraver  of  the  first  class  in  England 
who  was  then  disengaged.  The  Battle  of  Bunk- 
er s Hill  when  completed  was  sent  to  Professor 
Muller,  at  Stuttgart,  who  undertook  the  work. 

Mr.  C.  Edwards  Lester,  in  his  “Artists  of 
America,”  begins  his  sketch  of  Trumbull  with 
the  following : “In  a letter  written  by  Goethe 
to  Schiller,  from  Stuttgart,  the  30th  of  August, 
1 797,  he  says,  ‘ I found  Professor  Mueller  work- 
ing at  a portrait  of  Graff,  painted  by  himself. 
He  is  also  busy  with  the  death  of  a general,  and 
that  an  American,  a young  man  who  fell  at 
Bunker’s  Hill.  The  picture  is  by  an  Ameri- 
can, Trumbull,  and  has  merits  of  the  artist,  and 
faults  of  the  amateur.  The  merits  are  very 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

characteristic  and  admirably  handled  portrait 
faces — the  faults,  disproportion  between  the  dif- 
ferent bodies  and  between  their  parts.  It  is 
composed  relatively  to  the  subject  right  well, 
and  for  a picture  in  which  there  must  be  so 
many  red  uniforms,  is  very  judiciously  colored ; 
yet  at  first  view  it  makes  a glaring  impression, 
until  one  gets  reconciled  to  it  on  account  of  its 
merits.  The  engraving  makes  a very  good 
whole  and  is  in  its  parts  excellently  done.’  ” 

This  is  of  interest  as  coming  from  the  great 
German  poet,  who  evidently  was  impressed  with 
the  work.  In  this  picture  Trumbull  shows  him- 
self to  be  an  expert  draughtsman.  The  incident 
is  well  chosen,  the  action  is  at  its  height  and  the 
characters  are  all  absorbed  in  it ; the  arrange- 
ment is  admirable. 

It  is  commonly  supposed  that  Trumbull  wit- 
nessed the  battle  as  herein  depicted.  He  saw 
the  smoke  of  the  action  from  Roxbury,  and  from 
that  distance,  four  miles  away,  considering  the 
topography  of  the  intervening  country,  he  only 
knew  of  the  progress  of  the  fight  from  the  smoke 
and  noise  of  musketry,  and  the  burning  of  the 
village  of  Charlestown.  His  picture  is  the  more 
remarkable,  therefore,  as  a product  of  his  im- 
aginative genius  working  upon  carefully  collated 


20 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

facts  gathered  from  various  sources,  from  per- 
sons actually  engaged  in  the  fight,  and  from 
sketches  made  on  the  spot  at  a later  day.  That 
this  picture  has  the  character  of  an  impression 
received  by  an  eye-witness  is  a triumph  of  art, 
and  the  historic  accuracy  of  the  work  is  matched 
by  the  technical  skill  with  which  it  is  executed. 
That  Trumbull  should  have  produced  this  mas- 
terpiece at  the  beginning  of  his  career  as  an 
artist  is  only  another  form  of  evidence,  often  re- 
marked of  greater  masters,  that  genius  seems  to 
require  no  preparation,  that  it  is  born  with  its 
powers  already  matured. 

Commenting  on  the  character  of  the  aca- 
demic training  in  art  then  in  vogue,  Mr.  John 
Durand  remarks:  “This  method  may  be  charac- 
terized as  the  ‘old-master’  method.  It  consisted 
in  drawing  from  the  antique  and  copying  pic- 
tures executed  by  the  old  masters,  on  the  theory 
that  such  a course  of  study  enabled  a pupil  to 
obtain  proper  notions  of  color  and  design,  as 
well  as  superior  conceptions  of  beauty  and  the 
ideal.  This  theory  in  England  was  held  to  be 
orthodox.  The  practice  of  the  Renaissance  ar- 
tists, together  with  a study  of  the  forms  of  Greek 
art,  was  the  right  thing;  natural  currents  of  feel- 
ing, coupled  with  direct  study  of  Nature, 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

through  which  feeling  expressed  itself,  was  not 
regarded  as  the  true  source  of  artistic  develop- 
ment. Certain  literary  authorities,  moreover, 
with  minds  more  affected  by  erudition  than  by 
natural  sensibility,  better  judges  of  the  old  wine 
of  art  than  the  good  qualities  of  the  new, 
established  a standard  of  criticism  for  the  public 
and  amateurs,  until  it  got  to  be  a fashion  to  con- 
sider all  art  that  was  not  ‘ high  art  ’ as  not  worth 
looking  at.  An  appeal  to  Nature  for  inspira- 
tion and  expression,  independently  of  such  au- 
thorities, was  consequently  never  thought  of.  . . 
Trumbull  was  brought  up,  as  the  saying  is,  ac- 
cording to  the  old-master  method.  Fortunately 
for  him,  as  well  as  for  Washington  Allston,  who 
pursued  art  under  the  same  influences  and  at  the 
same  time,  but  who  was  less  emancipated  from 
its  thraldom,  they  had  genius,  and  were  original 
in  spite  of  the  method.”  Trumbull's  drawings 
from  the  nude-life,  made  at  the  Academy,  show 
a careful  study  of  the  living  figure,  with  “ a ten- 
dency to  invest  such  subjects  with  ideal  interest.” 
Trumbull  had  met  Thomas  Jefferson  in 
London,  in  1785,  and  writes  of  him  in  his  au- 
tobiography: “He  had  a taste  for  the  fine  arts 

and  highly  approved  my  intention  of  preparing 
myself  for  the  accomplishment  of  a national 


22 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON 

FROM  THE  “DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE” 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

work.  He  encouraged  me  to  persevere  in  this, 
and  kindly  invited  me  to  Paris  to  see  and  study 
the  fine  works  there  and  to  make  his  house  my 
home  during  my  stay.”  Trumbull  availed  him- 
self of  the  invitation  and  was  kindly  received. 
He  had  with  him  his  two  paintings,  the  Battle  of 
Bunker  s Hill  and  the  Heath  of  Montgomery,  and 
these  met  Jefferson’s  warm  approbation.  It  was 
during  this  visit  that  he  began  his  Declaration  of 
Indepeiidence,  “with  the  assistance  of  Jefferson’s 
information  and  advice.” 

Trumbull  was  well  received  by  the  principal 
artists  of  Paris,  by  Le  Brun  and  David  particu- 
larly— the  latter,  he  says,  becoming  his  warm 
and  efficient  friend;  also  by  Houdon,  the  sculp- 
tor, and  others.  His  journal,  in  Paris,  gives  a 
detailed  account  of  his  life  there,  principally  re- 
ferring to  his  study  of  works  of  art.  He  “found 
David,  in  his  studio  in  the  old  Louvre,  at  work 
upon  his  Horatii  receiving  their  swords  from  their 
father upon  which  he  comments  as  follows: 
“ Figures  large  as  life,  the  story  well  told,  draw- 
ing pretty  good,  coloring  cold.”  Of  Le  Brun’s 
pictures  he  says:  “The  coloring  is  all  that  is 

bad,  and  after  seeing  such  works  as  Rubens, 
quite  insufferable.  . . While  they  have  infinite 
merit  as  compositions,  and  are  great  in  point  of 


23 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

drawing,  they  are,  as  colored  pictures,  bad  as 
possible.”  This  indicates  Trumbull’s  independ- 
ence of  judgment,  while  it  suggests  that  he  had 
already  formed  his  mind  in  matters  of  art.  His 
own  pictures  drew  forth  much  praise  from  the 
artists  of  Paris,  and  among  others  the  Count  de 
Moustier,  Marquis  Cubiere,  M.  D’Hancharville 
and  M.  Boileau,  called  to  see  them  and  praised 
them  highly. 

In  November,  1786,  Trumbull  returned  to 
London,  his  brain,  he  writes,  “half  turned  by 
the  attention  which  had  been  paid  to  my  paint- 
ings in  Paris,  and  by  the  multitude  of  fine  things 
I had  seen.”  He  resumed  work  upon  other  sub- 
jects of  the  history  of  the  American  Revolution, 
“arranging  carefully  the  composition  for  the 
"Declaration  of  Independence,  and  preparing  this  for 
receiving  the  portraits,”  as  he  might  “meet  with 
the  distinguished  men  who  were  present  at  that 
illustrious  scene.”  He  adds,  “ Mr.  Adams,  in 
the  summer  of  1787,  having  taken  leave  of  the 
Court  of  St.  James,  and  combed  the  powder 
out  of  his  hair,  I took  that  opportunity  to  paint 
his  portrait  in  the  picture.” 

While  staying  with  Mr.  Jefferson  in  Paris, 
Trumbull  painted  the  portraits  of  the  French 
officers  who  appear  in  his  picture  of  the  Sur- 


JOHN  ADAMS 

PAINTED  IN  1792,  WHEN  VICE-PRESIDENT 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

render  of  Cornwallis , and  he  says  he  regards  these 
as  the  best  of  his  small  portraits.  He  returned 
again  to  Paris  in  1789,  and  witnessed  the  be- 
ginning of  the  French  Revolution — the  de- 
struction of  the  Bastile,  etc.,  and  “ on  one  occa- 
sion attended  the  Marquis  de  La  Fayette  in  a 
successful  attempt  to  calm  a mob  of  workmen 
in  the  Fauxbourg  St.  Antoine.”  Soon  after 
this  the  Marquis  invited  him  to  breakfast  at  an 
early  hour,  and  alone,  and  disclosed  to  Trumbull 
“ his  views  of  the  situation  and  the  hopes  he  enter- 
tained, in  common  with  M.  Condorcet  and  the 
Duke  de  la  Rochefaucault,  of  gaining  for  France 
a constitution  and  form  of  government  resem- 
bling that  of  England,  ” into  the  details  of  which 
he  entered  at  length,  and  desired  Trumbull  on 
his  return  to  America  to  communicate  this  to 
Washington  (Autobiography,  pp.  1 51  — 153).  It 
was  at  this  time  that  Mr.  Jefferson  offered  Trum- 
bull the  position  of  Secretary,  which  the  latter  de- 
clined in  an  interesting  letter  from  London, 
dated  June  11,  1789.  He  excuses  himself  for 
declining  Mr.  Jefferson’s  offer  by  stating  his 
views  of  the  responsibilities  upon  which  he  has 
entered  in  connection  with  his  profession  : “To 

preserve  and  diffuse  the  memory  of  the  noblest 
actions;  to  impart  to  future  generations  the 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

glorious  lessons  of  human  rights,  and  of  the 
spirit  with  which  these  should  be  asserted  and 
supported  ; and  to  transmit  to  posterity  the  per- 
sonal resemblance  of  those  who  have  been  great 
actors  in  those  illustrious  scenes,  are  objects  that 
give  dignity  to  my  profession,  peculiar  to  my 
situation  from  having  borne  personally  a humble 
part  in  the  great  events  I am  to  describe.  No 
other  artist  now  living  possesses  this  advantage, 
and  no  one  can  come  after  me  to  divide  the 
honor  of  truth  and  authenticity,  however  easily 
I may  hereafter  be  exceeded  in  elegance.  I feel 
therefore  some  pride  in  accomplishing  a work, 
such  as  has  never  been  done  before,  and  in  which 
it  is  not  easy  that  I should  have  a rival.”  After 
mentioning  the  delays  that  had  impeded  the 
publishing  of  his  prints,  he  concludes:  “The 

most  serious  reflection  is,  that  the  memory  and 
enthusiasm  for  actions  however  great,  fade  daily 
from  the  human  mind ; the  warm  attention 
which  the  nations  of  Europe  once  paid  to  us, 
begins  to  be  diverted  to  objects  more  nearly  and 
immediately  interesting  to  themselves.” 

In  November,  1789,  Trumbull  returned 
home  and  found  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  organized  under  the  new  constitution  with 
General  Washington  as  President.  He  says,  “I 


26 


PRESIDENT  WASHINGTON 
1 793 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

lost  no  time  in  communicating  to  him  the  state 
of  political  affairs,  and  the  prospects  of  France, 
as  explained  to  me  by  M.  La  Fayette;  and  hav- 
ing done  this,  proceeded  immediately  to  visit  my 
family  and  friends  in  Connecticut.  My  excel- 
lent father  had  died  in  1785,  at  the  age  of  sev- 
enty-five. My  brother,  and  my  friend,  Colonel 
Wadsworth,  of  Hartford,  were  members  of  the 
house  of  representatives  in  Congress,  which  was 
to  meet  in  New  York  early  in  December. 
With  them  I returned  to  New  York  for  the 
purpose  of  pursuing  my  work  for  the  Revolu- 
tion ; all  the  world  was  assembled  there,  and  I 
obtained  many  portraits  for  the  Declaration  of 
Independence , Surrender  of  Cornwallis , and  also 
that  of  General  Washington  in  the  battles  of 
Trenton  and  Prmceton,  and  in  April,  1790,  I of- 
fered my  subscription  for  the  first  two  engrav- 
ings, from  the  pictures  of  Bunker  s Hill  and  Que- 
bec, which  had  at  last  been  contracted  for  with 
Mr.  Muller  of  Stuttgart  in  Germany,  and  Mr. 
Clements  of  Denmark.  I obtained  the  names 
of  the  president,  vice-president,  ministers,  sev- 
enteen senators,  twenty-seven  representatives,  and 
a number  of  the  citizens  of  New  York.  In 
May  I went  to  Philadelphia,  where  I obtained 
some  portraits  for  my  great  work,  and  a num- 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

ber  of  subscribers.  I returned  to  New  York  in 
July,  where  I was  requested  to  paint  for  the 
corporation  a full-length  portrait  of  the  Presi- 
dent. I represented  him  in  full  uniform,  stand- 
ing by  a white  horse,  leaning  his  arm  on  the 
saddle;  in  the  background  a view  of  Broadway 
in  ruins,  as  it  then  was,  the  old  fort  on  the 
termination ; British  ships  and  boats  leaving  the 
shore,  with  the  last  of  the  officers  and  troops  of 
the  evacuating  army,  and  Staten  Island  in  the 
distance.  The  picture  is  now  in  the  common 
council-room  of  the  City  Hall.  Every  part  of 
the  detail  of  the  dress,  horse,  furniture,  etc.,  as 
well  as  the  scenery,  was  accurately  copied  from 
the  real  objects.” 

In  September  he  went  to  New  Hampshire, 
and,  he  writes : “ Obtained  the  heads  of  several 
statesmen  and  military  officers  for  my  great 
work,  and  in  Boston  received  a handsome  addi- 
tion to  my  list  of  subscribers.  I returned 
through  Connecticut  to  Philadelphia,  to  which 
place  Congress  had  adjourned  from  New  York. 
In  February  I went  to  Charleston,  S.  C.,  and 
there  obtained  portraits  of  the  Rutledges,  Pinck- 
neys, Middleton,  Laurens,  Heyward,  etc.,  and  a 
handsome  addition  to  my  list  of  subscribers.  On 
the  17th  of  April  I sailed  for  Yorktown  in  Vir- 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

ginia,  and  there  made  a drawing  on  the  spot 
where  the  British  Army,  commanded  by  Lord 
Cornwallis,  surrendered  in  1781;  thence  rode  to 
Williamsburg,  and  obtained  a drawing  of  Mr. 
Wythe  for  the  Declaration ; thence  to  Rich- 
mond; thence  to  Fredericksburg,  and  obtained 
a drawing  of  General  Weeden  for  the  Battle  of 
Trenton ; thence  to  Georgetown,  where  I found 
Major  L’Enfant  drawing  his  plan  for  the  city  of 
Washington  ; rode  with  him  over  the  ground  on 
which  the  city  has  since  been  built;  where  the 
Capitol  now  stands  was  then  (May,  1791)  a 
thick  wood.” 

On  his  return  to  New  York  Trumbull  was 
commissioned  to  paint  for  the  corporation  a 
wrhole-length  portrait  of  General  Clinton,  which 
is  now  in  the  common  council-room  of  the  City 
Hall.  The  background  of  this  picture  repre- 
sents British  troops  storming  Fort  Montgomery, 
in  the  Highlands  (where  the  General  com- 
manded) and  the  burning  of  two  frigates  in  the 
North  River;  this  background  was  one  of  his 
favorite  compositions. 

In  the  meanwhile  he  was  pushing  his  sub- 
scription-list for  the  engravings  from  his  pic- 
tures, and  the  following  letter  was  written  by 
General  Washington  to  the  Marquis  de  Lafay- 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

ette  in  furtherance  of  his  project  for  securing 
subscribers  in  France: 

“Philadelphia,  Nov.  21,  1791. 

“ My  Dear  Sir — Mr.  John  Trumbull,  with 
whom  you  are  acquainted,  is  engaged  in  paint- 
ing a series  of  pictures  of  the  most  important 
events  of  the  Revolution  in  this  country,  from 
which  he  proposes  to  have  plates  engraved.  I 
have  taken  peculiar  satisfaction  in  giving  every 
proper  aid  in  my  power  to  a subscription  here 
supporting  his  work,  which  likewise  has  been 
patronized  by  the  principal  people  in  this  coun- 
try. 

“ In  the  hope  of  meeting  the  patronage  of 
the  French  nation,  to  whose  honor  as  well  as 
that  of  America,  this  plan  is  directed,  Mr. 
Trumbull  informs  me  that  he  has  ordered  a 
subscription  to  be  opened  in  Paris;  and  the 
object  of  this  letter  is  to  engage  you  to  support 
the  subscription  in  that  city,  and  in  other  parts 
of  the  nation,  where  it  may  be  offered. 

“ I should  not,  however,  do  justice  to  Mr. 
Trumbull’s  talents  and  merits,  were  I not  to 
mention  his  views  and  wishes  on  this  occasion. 
His  pieces,  so  far  as  they  are  executed,  meet 
the  applause  of  all  who  have  seen  them ; the 


30 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

greatness  of  the  design,  and  the  masterly  execu- 
tion of  the  work,  equally  interest  the  man  of 
capacious  mind,  as  the  approving  eye  of  the 
connoisseur.  He  has  spared  no  pains  in  obtain- 
ing from  the  life,  the  likenesses  of  those  charac- 
ters, French  as  well  as  American,  who  bore  a 
conspicuous  part  in  our  Revolution  ; and  the  suc- 
cess with  which  his  efforts  have  been  crowned, 
will  form  no  small  part  of  the  value  of  his 
pieces. 

“To  you,  my  dear  sir,  who  know  Mr. 
Trumbull  as  a man  and  as  an  artist,  it  would 
perhaps  have  been  hardly  necessary  to  say  so 
much  as  I have  done  on  this  occasion ; but  I 
could  not  in  justice  say  less  of  him,  when  I be- 
lieve that  in  his  profession  he  will  do  much 
honor  to  the  liberal  art  of  painting,  as  well  as  to 
this  his  native  country. 

“ I cannot  conclude  this  letter  without  con- 
gratulating you  most  sincerely  on  the  King’s 
acceptance  of  the  constitution  presented  to  him 
by  the  National  Assembly,  and  upon  the  happy 
consequences  which  promise  to  flow  to  your 
country,  as  well  as  to  mankind  in  general  from 
that  event.  The  prayers  and  wishes  of  the 
friends  of  the  human  race  have  attended  the 
exertions  of  your  nation ; and  when  your  affairs 


31 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

shall  be  completely  settled  under  an  energetic 
and  equal  government,  the  hearts  of  good  men 
will  be  gratified ; and  no  one  will  rejoice  in  your 
felicity,  and  for  the  noble  and  disinterested  part 
you  have  acted,  more  than  your  sincere  friend 
and  truly  affectionate  servant, 

“Geo.  Washington.” 

In  1792  Trumbull  was  again  in  Philadel- 
phia, and  there  painted  the  full-length  portrait 
of  General  Washington,  which  is  now  in  Yale 
University.  Of  this  portrait  he  remarks  : “The 
best  certainly  of  those  which  I painted,  and  the 
best,  in  my  estimation,  which  exists,  in  his  he- 
roic military  character.” 

In  1793  Trumbull  visited  Boston,  going  by 
way  of  Newport  and  Providence,  and  “ obtained 
drawings  of  Mr.  Ellery,  Colonel  Olney,  Judge 
Howel,  etc.  Wherever  I went,”  he  says,  “ I 
offered  my  subscription-book,  but  wretched  now 
was  the  success,  and  rapidly  decreasing  the  en- 
thusiasm for  my  national  work.”  The  French 
Revolution  now  wholly  absorbed  the  attention 
of  the  public. 

“ In  the  meantime,”  he  writes,  “ the  ag- 
gressions of  Great  Britain  upon  our  commerce 
became  intolerable,  and  the  question  of  peace  or 


32 


JOHN  JAY 

1 793 


FIRST  CHIEF  JUSTICE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

war  with  her  came  to  be  seriously  agitated.  The 
President  determined  to  try  the  effect  of  nego- 
tiation, and  John  Jay,  Chief  Justice  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  was  appointed  envoy  extraordinary  to 
Great  Britain.  He  did  me  the  honor  to  offer 
me  the  position  of  secretary,  and  I accepted  the 
proposal  with  pleasure.”  In  May,  1794,  they 
embarked. 

While  in  London,  Trumbull  received  from 
Mr.  Pickering,  then  Secretary  of  State,  a com- 
mission and  instructions  appointing  him  “ agent 
for  the  relief  and  recovery  of  American  seamen 
impressed  by  Great  Britain.”  At  the  same  time 
he  received  notice  from  the  commissioners  “ ap- 
pointed by  the  two  nations  to  carry  into  execu- 
tion the  seventh  article  of  the  late  treaty,  relat- 
ing to  the  damage  done  to  the  commerce  of  the 
United  States  by  irregular  and  illegal  captures  by 
British  cruisers,”  naming  him  as  “ the  fifth  com- 
missioner.” The  others  were  Christopher  Gore 
and  William  Pinckney  on  the  part  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  and  John  Nichol  and  Dr.  Swabey  on 
the  part  of  Great  Britain.  Trumbull  was  to  rep- 
resent both  nations.  He  declined  the  first  ap- 
pointment in  favor  of  the  second,  and  thence  on, 
for  some  years,  his  time  was  largely  absorbed  by 
the  duties  attending  the  work  of  this  commission. 


33 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

During  a recess,  in  July,  1797,  he  visited 
Stuttgart,  to  ascertain  how  Professor  Muller  was 
getting  on  with  the  engraving  of  the  Battle  of 
Bunker  s Hill.  He  “ found  the  plate  admirably  en- 
graved, and  requiring  very  little  additional  work.” 

On  his  return  to  Paris  he  was  “ received 
with  civility  by  M.  Talleyrand,  and  invited  to 
dine  with  the  minister,  meeting  Madame  de 
Stael,  Lucien  Bonaparte,  Count  Lorigny,  and 
others.”  During  the  dinner  Madame  de  Stael 
attempted  to  engage  him  in  conversation  on  the 
subject  of  American  affairs,  but  the  minister  cut 
her  short  with,  “ But,  Madame  de  Stael,  no- 
body talks  politics  here.” 

When  the  Commission  for  the  settlement  of 
claims  against  Great  Britain  dissolved,  after  a 
seven  years’  residence  in  London  Trumbull  re- 
turned to  America  in  1 804.  On  the  4th  of  July, 
he  says,  he  dined  with  the  Society  of  the  Cin- 
cinnati, meeting  many  of  his  old  comrades,  and 
also  General  Hamilton  and  Colonel  Burr.  He 
remarks,  “ The  singularity  of  their  manner  was 
observed  by  all,  but  few  had  any  suspicion  of  the 
cause.  Burr,  contrary  to  his  wont,  was  silent, 
gloomy,  sour ; while  Hamilton  entered  with 
glee  into  all  the  gaiety  of  a convivial  party,  and 
even  sang  an  old  military  song.”  Only  a few 


34 


ALEXANDER  HAMILTON 


YALE  SCHOOL  OF  THE  FINE  ARTS 


. V 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

days  passed,  however,  when  “ the  wonder  was 
solved  by  that  unhappy  event  which  terminated 
the  life  of  Hamilton.” 

Finding  Gilbert  Stuart  established  as  a por- 
trait painter  in  Boston,  Trumbull  decided  to  set- 
tle in  New  York,  and  here  he  was  employed  to 
paint  for  the  city  government  full-length  por- 
traits of  Mr.  Jay  and  General  Hamilton,  the  lat- 
ter from  the  bust  byCerracchi.  These,  together 
with  those  of  General  Washington  and  Gover- 
nor Clinton,  were  hung  in  the  common-council 
room  in  the  City  Hall.  At  this  time  he  also 
painted  portraits  of  President  Dwight,  of  Yale 
College,  and  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer;  these  are 
both  in  the  Yale  collection. 

In  1808  Trumbull  again  sailed  for  London, 
where  he  was  kindly  received  by  Mr.  West  and 
many  other  old  friends.  After  four  years  of 
fruitless  effort  to  establish  himself  there  in  his 
profession,  he  was  about  to  return  to  America 
when,  in  1812,  war  was  declared  against  Great 
Britain.  With  the  restoration  of  peace  Trum- 
bull returned  home,  and  settled  in  New  York 
City.  His  friends,  particularly  Judge  Nichol- 
son, became  interested  in  furthering  his  project 
for  painting  a series  of  historical  pictures  for  the 
nation,  the  carefully-prepared  studies,  notes, 


35 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

sketches,  etc.,  for  which  had  been  gathered  with 
such  diligence.  Judge  Nicholson  accompanied 
the  artist  to  Washington  in  furtherance  of  this 
plan,  and  interested  several  members  of  Con- 
gress in  the  project,  notably  Mr.  Timothy  Pit- 
kin of  the  House  of  Representatives.  Some  of 
the  studies  were  put  in  the  hall  of  the  House, 
and  in  one  of  the  debates  on  the  subject  “John 
Randolph  was  eloquent  in  commendation  of  the 
work,”  insisting  that  Trumbull  should  be  em- 
ployed to  execute  the  whole  series  of  eight 
commemorative  pictures.  (See  Tuckerman’s 
“Memorial  of  Greenough,”  p.  148.)  A reso- 
lution was  finally  passed,  giving  authority  to  the 
President  to  employ  Trumbull  to  execute  four 
pictures  for  the  National  Capitol.  The  choice 
of  subjects,  and  the  size,  was  left  to  the  Presi- 
dent, Mr.  Madison,  to  determine.  The  sub- 
jects chosen  were  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence, the  Surrender  of  Burgoyne,  the  Surrender  of 
Lord  Cornwallis , and  Washington  Resigning  his 
Commission.  The  price  was  to  be  $8,000  for 
each  painting;  the  size  12x18  feet,  with  figures 
as  large  as  life.  Trumbull  was  eight  years  in 
executing  these  works,  and  in  1824  went  to 
Washington  to  superintend  the  placing  of  them 
in  position,  in  the  rotunda  of  the  Capitol. 

36 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

With  the  completion  of  this  commission 
Trumbull’s  debts  were  paid,  and  he  “began  life 
anew.”  He  was  now  sixty-eight  years  of  age; 
his  powers  were  by  no  means  what  they  once 
were.  It  may  be  a slip  of  the  pen  when  he 
says  in  his  autobiography  that  he  was  now  past 
seventy.  He  had  lost  his  wife,  and  a sense  of 
loneliness  now  crept  over  him,  for  he  had  no 
children ; but,  he  adds,  “ my  hand  was  steady, 
and  my  sight  good,  and  I felt  the  strength  of 
life  within.”  But  too  long  a period  had  elapsed 
before  his  powers  were  enlisted  in  this  com- 
memorative work  for  the  nation ; he  was  not 
himself  aware  that  the  delay  had  been  fatal  to 
their  best  exercise.  His  thoughts  now  turned 
in  his  art  to  religious  subjects,  and  later  to  re- 
peating in  a size  of  6x9  feet,  the  subjects  he 
had  already  executed  for  the  National  Capitol. 

With  his  declining  years  he  began  to  con- 
sider what  he  should  do  with  his  collection  of 
historical  studies,  portraits  and  miniatures,  which 
still  remained  in  his  possession.  He  first  thought 
of  Harvard  College,  as  being  well  able  to  afford 
the  purchase ; but  eventually  they  became  the 
property  of  Yale,  Trumbull  receiving  as  an  equi- 
valent a life-annuity  of  $1,000,  which  he  con- 
tinued to  draw  for  twelve  years,  or  until  the 


37 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

time  of  his  death.  The  indenture  was  drawn 
up  by  President  Day,  on  the  1 9th  of  December, 
1831,  in  the  name  of  the  President  and  Fellows 
of  Yale  College.  To  the  number  of  pictures 
specified  in  the  original  list,  Trumbull  added 
many  others  by  subsequent  gifts,  most  of  which, 
however,  were  the  productions  of  his  later  years, 
when  his  lamp  lacked  oil. 

During  his  residence  in  New  York  Trum- 
bull was  active  in  prosecuting  his  profession  and 
in  giving  instruction  in  the  Academy  over  which, 
for  a time,  he  presided.  An  association  had 
early  been  formed  in  New  York  “for  promot- 
ing the  Fine  Arts,”  of  which  Chancellor  Liv- 
ingston was  the  first  president.  For  a consider- 
able period  the  institution  was  sustained  with 
some  vigor,  but  it  finally  lost  its  vitality,  and  in 
1816  had  nearly  ceased  to  exist.  During 
that  year,  De  Witt  Clinton,  who  was  then 
president  of  the  association,  originated  and  per- 
fected a plan  by  which  the  association  was  re- 
vived under  the  name  of  “The  American  Aca- 
demy of  Fine  Arts.”  He  resigned  the  presi- 
dency, and  at  his  nomination  Trumbull  was 
elected  to  fill  the  chair.  Dunlap,  who  seems  to 
have  borne  Trumbull  ill-will,  and  who  in  his 
“ History  of  the  Arts  of  Design  ” takes  no  pains 

38 


AIRS.  TRUMBULL 

25^x32 

PAINTED  BY  JOHN  TRUMBULL 


YALE  SCHOOL  OF  THE  FINE  ARTS 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

to  conceal  this,  intimates  that  the  election  of 
Trumbull  gave  great  dissatisfaction;  but  appar- 
ently there  was  no  ground  for  this  charge,  and 
Trumbull  continued  to  fill  the  president’s  chair 
until  the  formation  of  “The  National  Academy 
of  Design,”  in  1825,  with  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse 
as  president. 

It  is  hardly  to  be  expected  that  the  popular 
estimates  of  the  time  could  do  Trumbull  justice, 
and  yet  he  was  himself  the  means  of  promoting 
a respect  for  art,  more  conspicuously  than  any 
other  artist  of  his  day.  At  the  time  when  he 
was  producing  his  three  or  four  principal  works, 
at  the  beginning  of  his  career — works  which 
have  made  his  name  illustrious — the  arts  were 
held  in  light  esteem  in  this  country,  if  not 
through  ignorance,  perhaps  from  necessity. 
Trumbull  strove  to  make  his  works  popular  by 
means  of  engravings,  executed  in  the  best  man- 
ner, and  sold  at  a moderate  price  ; but  the  pro- 
ject failed,  so  far  as  yielding  him  any  adequate 
money  return  is  concerned. 

In  a MS.  letter  in  the  Yale  Library,  ad- 
dressed to  Thomas  Jefferson,  October  1,  1823, 
when  he  was  delivering  the  engraving  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence , Trumbull  writes  : 
“ I have  the  pleasure  of  saying  that  not  only  has 


39 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

the  engraving  been  finished  with  great  beauty, 
but  the  printing  has  been  executed  with  uncom- 
mon success.  It  is  delightful  to  me,  that  after 
the  lapse  of  so  many  years,  this  work  which  I 
meditated,  and  you  assisted  me  to  arrange,  at 
Chaillot,  in  the  year  1786,  is  at  last  completed. 
Rarely  does  it  occur  that  two  individuals,  ad- 
vanced as  we  then  were  on  the  road  of  life,  re- 
main to  see  the  completion  of  a favorite  project 
at  the  end  of  thirty-seven  years.  The  event 
was  great  beyond  all  others  in  the  history  of 
man;  the  actors  in  it  were  men  who  not  only 
by  that  act,  but  by  the  consistent  and  undeviat- 
ing patriotism  of  their  subsequent  conduct  de- 
serve to  live  in  the  memory  of  mankind  to  the 
end  of  time;  and  I thank  God  that  I have  pos- 
sessed (to  use  the  beautiful  language  of  Dr. 
Johnson)  ‘ Calmness  of  mind,  and  steadiness  of 
purpose  ’ to  complete  this  memorial  of  such 
men  and  such  an  act.  May  I not,  my  dear  sir, 
without  excessive  vanity,  say  with  Horace, 
* Monumentum  exegi  aere  perennius,’  will  not  my 
name  live,  under  the  shadow  of  their  glory.” 
There  is  this  to  be  said  of  Trumbull:  he  be- 
lieved fully  in  the  dignity  of  his  profession;  he 
was  uncompromising  in  his  own  attitude  and  in 
his  demands  of  others  with  regard  to  this ; and 


40 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

he  was  always  accorded  a high  respect  by  per- 
sons of  distinction.  In  temperament  he  was 
high-strung,  impetuous  often,  and  exceedingly 
sensitive.  He  had  his  enemies,  but  the  shaft  of 
malice  never  penetrated  his  knightly  shield ; he 
was  a gentleman  under  all  circumstances — by 
birth,  by  education,  and  by  natural  instinct.  He 
gave,  perhaps,  too  much  thought  to  matters  for- 
eign to  his  profession  and  of  comparatively  little 
consequence  in  view  of  his  acknowledged  merits 
as  an  artist.  His  military  experience  was  brief 
and  unimportant — save  as  it  aided  to  equip  him 
for  his  commemorative  works. 

As  to  his  art,  Trumbull’s  life  divides  into 
three  distinct  periods:  the  first,  from  1786  to 
1797,  is  marked  by  the  execution  of  those  bril- 
liant works,  widely  known  through  engravings, 
namely,  the  Declaration  of  Independence , the  Battle 
of  Bunker  s Hill , the  Death  of  Montgomery , and  a 
considerable  collection  of  miniature  portraits,  in 
separate  frames  and  others  included  in  his  Surren- 
der of  Cornwallis.  To  these  may  be  added  his 
Sortie  from  Gibraltar , his  full-length  portrait  of 
Washington , and  perhaps  half  a dozen  other 
portraits  painted  at  this  time.  The  larger  part 
of  his  best  works  are  in  the  collection  at  Yale 
University.  The  paintings  executed  between 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

1786  and  i797alone  give  Trumbull  his  place  in 
art ; upon  these  works  his  reputation  rests.  The 
second  period,  from  1797  to  1824,  covers  his 
later  residence  of  seven  years  in  London,  and  his 
longer  residence  in  New  York  City,  where  he 
established  himself  as  a portrait  painter.  This 
period  is  marked  by  an  entire  change  of  style, 
especially  in  his  subject  pictures,  which  gener- 
ally were  of  religious  or  literary  themes,  some- 
what in  the  style  of  Benjamin  West.  It  was 
during  the  latter  part  of  this  second  period  that 
Trumbull  painted  his  four  large  pictures  for  the 
National  Capitol,  of  which  John  Durand  says: 
“No  interest  attaches  to  them  as  works  of  art.” 
The  third  period,  from  1824  to  his  death  in 
1843,  includes  numerous  pictures  of  various 
kinds  executed  in  his  old  age,  nearly  all  of  which 
should  have  been  destroyed — notably  the  replicas 
of  his  earlier  historical  works,  now  in  the 
Wadsworth  Athenasum  at  Hartford. 

It  may  be  seen  from  this  that  Trumbull’s 
reputation  as  an  artist  rests  almost  exclusively 
upon  works  executed  between  1785  and  1797. 
The  examples  are  few,  but  their  merit  is  great — 
great  enough  to  have  made  his  name  illustrious 
in  the  annals  of  American  art.  It  is  to  the  en- 
graver principally  that  Trumbull  owes  his  wide 


42 


BUST  OF  TRUMBULL 

BY  BALL  HUGHES 


YALE  SCHOOL  OF  THE  FINE  ARTS 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

reputation,  for  those  only  who  have  seen  his  ear- 
lier works  at  Yale,  and  the  few  important  por- 
traits in  the  City  Hall  in  New  York,  can  form 
a just  estimate  of  his  merits  as  a painter.  The 
decline  of  his  power  is  already  foreshadowed  in 
the  general  composition  of  his  surrenders  of  Bur- 
goyne  and  Cornwallis.  When  the  first  great  im- 
pulse which  vitalized  his  art  had  spent  itself,  or 
when  the  motive  that  first  enlisted  his  ardent 
sympathies  had  become  a memory,  his  clear-sight 
was  dimmed,  and  his  art  became  only  a faint 
echo  of  his  earlier  achievements.  John  Durand 
remarks:  “Colonel  Trumbull’s  artistic  career 
may  be  considered  as  closed  on  the  execution  of 
his  large  pictures  for  the  National  Capitol.  As 
an  artist  he  can  be  thoroughly  appreciated  only 
through  his  works  at  New  Haven.”  Scattered 
here  and  there  are  a few  fine  portraits — one, 
of  “an  artist,”  in  the  Wadsworth  Athenaeum  at 
Hartford,  and  one  of  his  nephew,  John  M.  Trum- 
bull, painted  in  London,  now  in  Minneapolis, 
are  among  his  best.  He  painted  rapidly,  “ av- 
eraging five  sittings  to  a head.” 

There  are  five  portraits  of  Trumbull:  one 
painted  by  himself  in  1833,  and  engraved  in  his 
memoirs  ; two  by  Waldo  and  Jouett, — one  of 
these  is  in  the  Yale  School  of  the  Fine  Arts;  a 


43 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

small  full-length  by  Twibill,  now  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  National  Academy  of  Design  ; one 
in  the  possession  of  Mrs.  Benjamin  Silliman,  3d; 
and  one  painted  by  Gilbert  Stuart,  owned  by 
William  Forbes  Morgan,  of  New  York.  The 
portrait  now  in  the  Yale  School  of  Fine  Arts 
was  engraved  by  A.  B.  Durand  for  the  “ Na- 
tional Portrait  Gallery.”  A miniature  of  Colonel 
Trumbull,  by  Robertson,  “ exists  somewhere  in 
England.”  A bust  of  Trumbull,  by  Ball  Hughes, 
is  in  the  Yale  Art  School  at  New  Haven;  and 
there  was  a medal  of  him  issued  by  “ The  Amer- 
ican Art  Union.” 

In  closing  his  sketch  of  Trumbull,  published 
in  “The  American  Art  Review,”  Mr.  Durand 
says : “ Such  were  the  men  who  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  American  character.  I can  only  add,  in 
conclusion,  that  Trumbull  the  artist  is  worthy  to 
be  named  as  the  peer  of  his  great  friends  and 
contemporaries, Washington, Jefferson  and  Frank- 
lin, and  is  entitled  to  be  associated  with  them  in 
the  minds  and  memories  of  his  countrymen.” 

In  a letter  from  Professor  Benjamin  Silli- 
man, Sr.,  to  Mr.  Lester,  written  in  1846,  from 
New  Haven,  he  says:  “Colonel  Trumbull 

wrote  most  of  his  autobiography  in  my  house, 
to  which  he  was  invited  by  Mrs.  Silliman, 


44 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

who  was  his  niece.  ...  He  remained  four 
years  in  our  family.  He  then  returned  to 
New  York,  to  be  near  his  physician,  Dr.  Wash- 
ington, and  there  remained  until  his  death, 
November  io,  1843,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
eight.  By  his  own  request  his  remains  were 
brought  to  my  house , whence  his  jtuneral  pro- 
ceeded to  the  College  Chapel,  where  an  appro- 
priate and  feeling  historical  discourse  was  de- 
livered by  the  Rev.  Professor  Fitch.  Eight  of 
our  principal  citizens  were  bearers,  the  students 
and  citizens  forming  a procession  to  the  stone 
tomb,  beneath  the  Trumbull  Gallery,  where  his 
remains  were  laid  beside  those  of  his  wife.  . . 
His  long  and  varied  life,  abounding  in  changes, 
and  passed  among  the  great  men  of  the  time, 
furnished  him  with  a rich  fund  of  historical 
anecdotes.  . . . His  conversational  powers  were 
extraordinary.  . . . His  veneration  of  Wash- 

J 

ington  was  very  great ; he  regarded  him  as 
the  greatest  and  best  of  men.  Many  letters  of 
Washington,  some  of  them  long,  and  all  of  them 
parental  and  affectionate,  are  among  his  papers.” 
When  Mr.  Augustus  Russell  Street  erected 
upon  the  College  Square  a large  and  costly 
building  for  the  accommodation  of  the  School 
of  Fine  Arts,  the  remains  of  Colonel  Trumbull 


45 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

were  removed  and  deposited  in  a suitable  recep- 
tacle in  the  foundation  beneath  that  end  of  the 
large  gallery  in  which  his  collection  of  pictures 
is  now  placed,  and  which  will  remain  a fitting 
memorial  of  the  man.  A marble  slab  in  the 
basement,  immediately  over  the  grave,  bears  the 
following  inscription  : “Col.  John  Trumbull : 

Patriot  and  Artist : Friend  and  Aid  of  Washing- 
ton : lies  beside  his  wife  beneath  this  Gallery  of 
Art:  Lebanon  1756— New  York  1843.”  An 
inscription  is  also  cut  on  the  stone  pier  outside, 
immediately  above  the  grave. 


46 


DESCRIPTIONS  OF  PAINTINGS 


I 


BATTLE  OF  BUNKER’S  HILL 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BUNKER’S  HILL: 
THE  DEATH  OF  MONTGOMERY:  AND 
THE  SORTIE  FROM  GIBRALTAR 


IN  a catalogue  prepared  by  Colonel  Trumbull  in  con- 
nection with  an  exhibition  of  his  pictures  in  the 
Gallery  of  “ The  American  Academy  of  Fine  Arts,”  in 
Chambers  Street,  New  York  City,  in  1831,  he  writes 
of  the  Battle  of  Bunker's  Hill.  “ The  painting  repre- 
sents the  moment  when(the  Americans  having  expended 
their  ammunition)  the  British  troops  became  completely 
successful  and  masters  of  the  field.  At  the  last  moment 
of  the  action,  General  Warren  was  killed  by  a musket 
ball  through  the  head.  The  principal  group  represents 
him  as  expiring — a soldier  on  his  knees  supports  him, 
and  with  one  hand  wards  off  the  bayonet  of  a British 
grenadier,  who,  in  the  heat  and  fury  natural  at  such  a 
moment,  aims  to  revenge  the  death  of  a favorite  officer 
who  had  just  fallen  at  his  feet.  Colonel  Small  (whose 
conduct  in  America  was  always  equally  distinguished 
by  acts  of  humanity  and  kindness  to  his  enemies,  as  by 
bravery  and  fidelity  to  the  cause  he  served)  had  been  in- 
timately connected  with  General  Warren — saw  him  fall, 
and  flew  to  save  him.  He  is  represented  seizing  the 
musket  of  the  grenadier  to  prevent  the  fatal  blow,  and 
speaking  to  his  friend — it  was  too  late  ; the  General  had 


49 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

barely  life  remaining  to  recognize  the  voice  of  friend- 
ship; he  had  lost  the  power  of  speech,  and  expired  with 
a smile  of  mingled  gratitude  and  triumph.  Near  him 
several  Americans,  whose  ammunition  is  expended,  al- 
though destitute  of  bayonets,  are  seen  to  persist  in  a re- 
sistance obstinate  and  desperate,  but  fruitless.  Near  this 
side  of  the  painting  is  seen  General  Putnam,  reluctantly 
ordering  the  retreat  of  these  brave  men  ; while  beyond 
him  a party  of  the  American  troops  oppose  their  last 
fire  to  the  victorious  column  of  the  enemy.  Behind 
Colonel  Small  is  seen  Colonel  Pitcairn  of  the  British 
Marines,  mortally  wounded,  and  falling  into  the  arms 
of  his  son,  to  whom  he  was  speaking  at  the  fatal  mo- 
ment. General  Howe,  who  commanded  the  British 
troops,  and  General  Clinton,  who,  toward  the  close  of 
the  action,  offered  his  service  as  a volunteer,  are  seen 
behind  the  principal  group.  On  the  right  of  the  paint- 
ing, a young  American,  wounded  in  the  sword  hand 
and  in  the  breast,  has  begun  to  retire,  attended  by  a 
faithful  negro ; but  seeing  his  general  fall,  hesitates 
whether  to  save  himself,  or,  wounded  as  he  is,  to  return 
and  assist  in  saving  a life  more  precious  to  his  country 
than  his  own.  Behind  this  group  are  seen  the  British 
column  ascending  the  hill — grenadiers,  headed  by  an 
officer  bearing  the  British  colors,  mounting  the  feeble 
entrenchments  ; and  more  distant,  the  Somerset  ship- 
of-war  (which  lay  during  the  action  between  Boston 
and  Charlestown) ; the  north  end  of  Boston,  with  the 
battery  on  Cop’s  Hill ; and  the  harbor,  shipping,  etc., 
etc.  No  part  of  the  town  of  Charleston  is  seen;  but 
the  dark  smoke  indicates  the  conflagration.” 


PAINTINGS 


The  lines  of  the  composition  are  suggestive  of  the 
whirl  and  rush  of  the  action,  in  the  spirit  of  which  the 
figures  are  all  absorbed.  The  expression  of  the  dying 
general  is  remarkable  for  its  realistic  truth,  as  is  that  of 
every  principal  actor  in  the  scene.  The  touch  of  the 
artist  is  skilful,  and  the  coloring  good — perhaps  some- 
what improved  by  the  lapse  of  time,  which  has  had  the 
effect  of  toning  down  the  “ glaring  effect  ” of  the  red 
uniforms  noticed  by  Goethe. 

In  his  paper  on  John  Trumbull,  reprinted  from  the 
American  Art  Review,  Mr.  John  Durand  writes  of  this 
picture:  “ Variety  of  character,  distinct  personalities, 

each  individual  animated  by  a different  impulse,  every 
countenance  expressing  truthfully  and  powerfully  the 
sentiment  peculiar  to  each,  the  rush  of  an  attacking 
force  driving  back  through  superior  discipline  a motley 
but  equally  courageous  crowd  of  defenders,  all  blended 
together  without  confusion  in  the  tumult  and  excite- 
ment of  battle,  show  a rare  command  of  artistic  resources 
and  great  dramatic  ability.  The  leading  idea  is  one  of 
humanity — the  attempt  of  a British  officer,  Colonel 
Small,  to  save  the  life  of  General  Warren.  This  inci- 
dent, the  energetic  action  of  General  Putnam  on  the 
left,  ordering  a retreat  of  the  American  forces,  the  sym- 
pathetic expression  of  the  old  soldier  who  is  supporting 
General  Warren  on  his  knees,  and  lastly,  the  pallid 
features  of  the  dying  hero,  form  special  examples  of 
Colonel  Trumbull’s  pictorial  skill.  This  is  the  ideal 
he  aimed  at,  an  ideal  which  makes  modern  fine  art  ex- 
plicable on  the  same  theory  as  ancient  art : while  the 
latter  displays  a limited  range  of  emotion,  the  former 

51 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

gives  with  equal  fidelity  to  nature  a series  of  emotions 
which  were  never  dreamt  of  by  the  ancients.  As  to 
composition,  which  term,  applied  to  plastic  art,  means 
the  logical  value  and  dispositions  of  forms  to  convey 
ideas,  the  Battle  of  Bunker  s Hill  is  as  masterly  and 
original  as  any  work  of  a similar  kind  extant.” 

The  Death  of  Montgomery , at  the  storming  of  Que- 
bec, was  painted  by  Trumbull  in  the  studio  of  Benja- 
min West,  at  the  same  time  as  his  picture  of  the  Battle 
of  Bunker  s Hill , and  it  is  hardly  less  vital  and  admirable 
as  a work  of  art.  The  central  group,  including  the  ex- 
piring general,  who  has  just  been  struck  by  a bullet  and 
falls  back  into  the  arms  of  an  officer,  is  executed  with 
surprising  skill.  The  touch  is  crisp,  sure,  and  direct ; 
the  drawing  is  faultless  and  the  color  admirable.  The 
foreshortened  features  of  the  dying  officer  with  the  head 
thrown  backward,  the  body  gradually  sinking  to  the 
ground,  has  an  indescribable  expression  of  death,  trans- 
fixing the  form  and  rendering  the  body  inert.  The 
representation  in  this,  as  in  the  death  of  Warren,  is  re- 
markable for  its  realism. 

In  his  catalogue  of  1831,  Trumbull  writes : “That 
part  of  the  scene  is  chosen  where  General  Montgom- 
ery commanded  in  person  ; and  that  moment,  when  by 
his  unfortunate  death,  the  plan  of  the  attack  was  en- 
tirely disconcerted,  and  the  consequent  retreat  of  his 
column  decided  at  once  the  fate  of  the  plan  and  of  such 
of  the  assailants  as  had  already  entered  the  works  at 
another  point.  The  principal  group  represents  the 
death  of  General  Montgomery,  who,  together  with  his 
two  aids-de-camp,  Major  McPherson  and  Captain 

52 


DEATH  OF  MONTGOMERY 


SORTIE  FROM  GIBRALTAR 


PAINTINGS 


Cheesman,  fell  by  a discharge  of  grapeshot  from  the 
cannon  of  the  place.  The  general  is  represented  as 
expiring,  supported  by  two  of  his  officers  and  sur- 
rounded by  others,  among  whom  is  Colonel  Campbell, 
on  whom  the  command  devolved,  and  by  whose  order 
a retreat  was  immediately  begun.  Grief  and  surprise 
mark  the  countenance  of  the  various  characters.  The 
earth  covered  with  snow — trees  stripped  of  their  foliage 
— the  desolation  of  winter,  and  the  gloom  of  night, 
heighten  the  melancholy  character  of  the  scene.”  Mr. 
Durand  writes  of  this  picture : “ Dramatic  power  and 

truth  of  expression  characterize  this  composition,  as 
well  as  the  Battle  of  Bunker  s Hill , while  in  coloring  it 
is  superior.”  From  it  was  engraved  a large  print  by 
Clements  of  Denmark. 

The  Sortie  from  Gibraltar  was  repeated  five  times 
by  Trumbull,  in  various  sizes.  The  large  and  fine  en- 
graving by  Sharpe  has  made  this  picture  widely  known. 
Trumbull  says  of  his  various  renderings  of  this  subject: 
The  first  effort  “ was  a small  picture  on  a cloth  four- 
teen inches  by  twenty-one,  on  which  I carefully  drew 
and  painted  my  figures  from  nature.”  This  picture 
he  presented  to  Mr.  West,  in  acknowledgment  of  his 
great  kindness  to  him.  Mr.  Durand  says,  “Finding 
that  he  had  made  a mistake  in  the  color  of  the  Span- 
ish uniform,  which  he  supposed  to  be  white  and  red, 
he  began  the  subject  anew  on  a canvas  twenty  by  thirty 
inches,  the  uniform  being  painted,  as  it  should  have 
been  at  first,  blue  and  scarlet.”  This  picture  now  be- 
longs to  the  estate  of  the  late  John  A.  Burnham,  of 
Boston.  It  had  been  taken  from  England  to  Rome 

53 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

by  Lady  Asburton,  and  there  exchanged  for  other 
works  of  art,  and  came  into  the  possession  of  Mr.  Mc- 
Pherson and  was  returned  to  England.  Of  this  picture 
Trumbull  made  the  following  minute  in  his  memoran- 
dum-book : “Portraits  from  life  : intended  for  the  en- 
graver: 20x30  inches:  finished  1788,  and  sold  in  1 803 
to  Sir  Francis  Baring  for  five  hundred  guineas.” 

Among  the  same  memoranda  is  the  following  ref- 
erence to  the  large  picture,  six  by  nine  feet,  of  the  same 
subject,  in  the  possession  of  the  Boston  Athenaeum, 
but  now  deposited  in  the  Boston  Museum  of  Art : 
“ . . Finished  in  April,  1789,  and  exhibited  at  Spring 
Gardens  the  following  month.  . . .”  “ For  this 

picture  I was  offered  and  refused  1,200  guineas.”  It 
was  in  1828  sold  to  the  Boston  Athenaeum  for  $5,000. 
Lawrence  posed  for  the  dying  Spaniard.  Of  another 
but  smaller  picture  of  the  same  subject,  Professor  Sil- 
liman,  Jr.,  says  in  a note  (1882) : “I  am  told  it  is  now 
in  Guild  Hall,  London.”  There  are  two  in  Philadel- 
phia— one  at  the  Academy  of  Fine  Arts,  and  the  other 
in  the  possession  of  Mr.  J.  M.  Fox. 

This  picture  had  a great  reputation  and  drew  a large 
number  of  visitors  when  exhibited  in  London,  perhaps 
this  was  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  it  contained  life- 
like portraits  of  certain  prominent  officers  of  the  British 
army.  In  composition  it  is  greatly  inferior  to  either  the 
Battle  of  Bunker  s Hill  or  the  Death  of  Montgomery.  It  is 
somewhat  melodramatic  in  action  and  is  poor  in  color, 
while  the  body  of  troops  breaking  through  the  stockade, 
which  forms  a large  mass  of  shadow  on  the  left,  is  ill  con- 
ceived; but  the  portrait  heads  are  all  admirably  painted. 


54 


\ 


DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE 


THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE 


HIS  picture  is  the  most  important  of  Trumbull’s 


works,  not  only  from  its  great  historical  inter- 
est as  a unique  pictorial  record  of  that  great  event  and 
for  the  authentic  portraits  therein  brought  together,  but 
also  because  of  its  artistic  merits.  The  three  pictures 
that  mark  Trumbull’s  most  brilliant  achievement  as  an 
artist,  are  the  Declaration  of  Independence , the  Battle  of 
Bunker  s Hill , and  the  Death  of  Montgomery  ; these  three 
pictures  may  be  said  to  be  Trumbull’s  masterpieces, 
and  it  is  the  opinion  of  artists  that  they  are  properly 
so  termed. 

In  1848,  the  sculptor  Horatio  Greenough  wrote  : 
“ I believe  I am  speaking  the  sense  of  the  cognoscenti , 
when  I say  that  the  Declaration  of  Independence  has 
earned  the  respect  of  all  who  have  watched  the  devel- 
opment of  American  Art,  and  the  admiration  of  those 
who  have  tried  their  hand  at  wielding  a weighty  and 
difficult  subject.  I admire  in  this  composition  the  skill 
with  which  Trumbull  has  collected  so  many  portraits  in 
formal  session,  without  theatrical  effort  in  order  to  en- 
liven it,  and  without  falling  into  bald  insipidity  by  ad- 
hering to  trivial  fact.  These  men  are  earnest,  yet  full 


55 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

of  dignity  ; they  are  firm  yet  cheerful ; they  are  gentle- 
men ; and  you  see  at  a glance  that  they  meant  some- 
thing very  serious  in  pledging  their  lives;  their  fortunes, 
and  their  sacred  honor.” 

In  a letter  to  Thomas  Jefferson,  bearing  date  of 
December  28,  1817,  Trumbull  writes  concerning  the 
enlargement  of  this  work  for  the  National  Capitol : 
“ The  picture  will  contain  portraits  of  at  least  forty- 
seven  members  . . . for  the  faithful  resemblance  of 
thirty-six,  I am  responsible,  as  they  were  done  by  my- 
self from  the  Life,  being  all  who  survived  in  1791  ” — 
when  he  began  his  studies  for  this  picture.  “ Of  the 
remainder,”  he  adds,  “nine  are  from  portraits  done  by 
others.  One,  General  Whipple,  of  New  Hampshire, 
is  from  memory;  one,  Benjamin  Harrison,  of  Virginia; 
is  from  description  aided  by  memory.”  The  portrait 
of  Mr.  Adams  was  painted  in  London  ; that  of  Mr. 
Jefferson  in  Paris  ; Mr.  Hancock  and  Samuel  Adams 
in  Boston  ; Mr.  Rutledge  in  Charleston,  S.  C.;  Mr. 
Wythe  at  Williamsburg,  Va.;  Mr.  Bartlett,  at  Exeter, 
N.  H.,  etc.,  etc. 

It  is  said  that  Trumbull  carried  the  small  canvas 
now  in  the  Yale  School  of  Fine  Arts,  in  his  carriage;  in 
a receptacle  made  for  holding  it,  while  in  search  of  the 
original  signers  whose  portraits  he  painted  from  life 
wherever  he  could  find  them,  in  various  parts  of  the 
country.  How  far  he  did  this  directly  upon  the  can- 
vas, or  from  pencil  studies,  is  uncertain;  for  the  tech- 
nical execution  of  the  heads  in  the  original  picture  bears 
no  trace  of  their  having  been  painted  under  different 
lights,  or  at  different  times,  with  the  exception  of  three 

56 


PAINTINGS 


or  four  on  the  extreme  left  of  the  composition,  which 
evidently  were  painted  in  a later  day,  after  Trumbull 
had  lost  his  crisp,  accurate,  and  spirited  touch. 

The  assemblage  of  these  variously  executed  por- 
traits in  a single  harmonious  composition,  adjusted  to 
the  color  scheme  and  the  requirements  of  the  perspec- 
tive, presented  a problem  exceedingly  difficult  to  man- 
age. Within  the  limits  of  historic  truth  and  the  require- 
ments of  art  Trumbull  has  succeeded  in  making  his 
composition  interesting  by  skilful  groupings.  He 
says  : “In  order  to  give  some  variety  to  the  composi- 
tion, I found  it  necessary  to  depart  from  the  usual 
practice  of  reporting  an  act,  and  made  the  whole  com- 
mittee of  five  advance  to  the  table  of  the  president  to 
make  their  report,  instead  of  having  the  chairman  rise 
in  his  place  for  the  purpose  ; the  silence  and  solemnity 
of  the  scene  offered  such  real  difficulties  to  a pictur- 
esque and  agreeable  composition  as  to  justify  this  de- 
parture from  custom  and  fact.  The  room  is  copied 
from  that  in  which  Congress  held  its  sessions  at  the 
time — such  as  it  was  before  the  spirit  of  innovation 
laid  unhallowed  hands  upon  it,  and  violated  its  venera- 
ble walls  by  so-called  modern  improvement.” 

John  Durand,  the  translator  of  Taine’s  works  on 
Art,  says:  “The  portraits  of  Richard  Henry  Lee, 
George  Clinton,  Samuel  Adams,  Robert  Morris, 
George  Clymer  (the  smallest,  and  an  inimitable  head), 
with  those  of  the  group  standing  before  Hancock — 
John  Adams,  Roger  Sherman,  Robert  R.  Livingston, 
Jefferson  and  Franklin — are  comparable  to  the  finest 
limning  of  Meissonier.  . . On  comparing  the  heads  of 


57 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

Lynch,  Chase,  Rush  and  Stockton  (executed  at  a later 
day)  with  those  above  mentioned,  the  difference  in 
style  is  so  plain  as  to  make  it  evident,  even  to  an  un- 
practised eye,  that  the  hand  had  lost  its  cunning.” 

In  his  own  account  of  this  work  Trumbull  says: 
“To  preserve  the  resemblance  of  the  men  who  were 
the  authors  of  this  memorable  act,  was  an  essential 
object  of  this  painting.  Important  difficulties  pre- 
sented themselves  at  the  outset;  for  although  only  ten 
years  had  elapsed  since  the  date  of  the  event,  it  was 
already  difficult  to  ascertain  who  were  the  individuals 
to  be  represented.”  He  questioned  “whether  he  should 
regard  the  fact  of  having  been  actually  present  in  the 
room  on  the  4th  of  July,  as  indispensable;”  or  should 
he  “ admit  those  only  who  were  in  favor  of,  and  reject 
those  who  were  opposed  to  the  act;”  and  where  a 
person  was  dead,  and  no  authentic  portrait  could  be 
obtained,  should  he  admit  ideal  heads?  These  were 
questions,”  he  says,  “on  which  Mr.  Adams,  and  Mr. 
Jefferson  were  consulted,  and  they  concurred  in  the 
advice,  that  with  regard  to  the  characters  to  be  intro- 
duced, the  signatures  of  the  original  act  . . . ought  to 
be  the  guide.”  That  portraits  should  be  admitted 
likewise  “ of  those  who  were  opposed  to,  and  of  course 
did  not  sign,  as  well  as  those  who  voted  in  favor  of  the 
Declaration,  and  did  sign  it ; particularly  John  Dick- 
inson of  Delaware  . . . who  was  the  most  eloquent 
and  powerful  opposer  of  the  measure  ; not  indeed  of 
its  principle,  but  of  the  fitness  of  the  time,  which  he 
considered  premature.”  Mr.  Jefferson  and  Mr.  Adams 
also  recommended  that  where  it  was  impossible  to 

58 


PAINTINGS 


obtain  a likeness,  either  from  the  life,  or  from  some 
authentic  portrait  of  the  person,  in  case  of  death,  the 
“artist  should  by  no  means  admit  any  ideal  represen- 
tation, lest,  it  being  known  that  some  such  were  to  be 
found  in  the  painting,  a doubt  of  the  truth  of  others 
should  be  excited  in  the  minds  of  posterity  ; and  that, 
in  short,  absolute  authenticity  should  be  attempted  as 
far  as  it  could  be  obtained.”  Thirteen  of  those  who 
were  present  are  not  represented  in  the  picture,  as  there 
were  no  likenesses  to  be  obtained  of  them. 

The  small  picture,  now  in  Yale  University,  is  a 
priceless  possession.  Historically  it  is  a unique  pic- 
torial record  of  that  great  event,  in  the  sense  of  its  be- 
ing the  original  picture  from  which  the  larger  repro- 
ductions were  copied,  and  was  executed  when  Trumbull 
was  at  the  height  of  his  powers.  The  large  picture,  in 
the  Capitol  at  Washington,  and  the  later  replica  in  the 
Wadsworth  Athenaeum,  at  Hartford,  are  as  if  executed 
by  another  hand.  That  in  the  Capitol  at  Washington 
Greenough  pronounced  inferior  to  the  original  in  color 
and  effect,  and  “ having  a chalky,  distemper-like  tone, 
which  is  very  unpleasing.”  (Memorial  of  Greenough, 
pp.  148-9.) 

It  should  be  said  of  Trumbull’s  treatment  of  this 
momentous  event,  with  its  serious  and  exalted  motive, 
that  the  artist’s  mind,  in  his  conception  of  it,  is  well  on 
the  plane  of  the  moral  action  : the  picture  is  conceived 
from  a noble  and  patriotic  point  of  view  ; and  we  feel 
that  the  artist  who  has  presented  to  us  this  striking 
work,  was  in  character  and  feeling  himself  a patriot  and 
moved  by  an  exalted  sentiment.  He  resorts  to  no  ex- 


59 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

pedients  of  artistic  cleverness  to  heighten  the  dramatic 
interest ; but  rather  values  the  simplicity  of  a scene, 
which,  in  the  light  of  history,  was  to  have  grave  and 
momentous  issues. 

In  choosing  the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  the 
Battle  of  Bunker  s Hill  as  the  two  most  memorable 
events  of  the  Revolution,  Trumbull’s  first  impulse 
when  he  executed  the  smaller  pictures,  was  wiser  than 
the  choice  of  his  later  years  when  he  executed  the  com- 
mission for  Congress.  For  the  first  of  these  themes 
fixes  in  the  minds  of  succeeding  generations  that  solemn 
“ Declaration  ” by  which  the  fathers  of  the  nation 
staked  their  lives  and  sacred  honor  in  the  cause  of  lib- 
erty and  independence  ; while  the  second  marks  the 
initial  act  which  led  to  the  securing  of  this  indepen- 
dence by  force  of  arms.  All  other  acts  that  followed, 
legislative  or  military,  were  but  subsidiary  and  conse- 
quent upon  these  initial  events.  The  surrenders  of 
Cornwallis  and  Burgoyne,  though  important  as  leading 
to  the  termination  of  the  war,  were  in  the  order  of 
events  of  minor  moral  significance. 

To  no  other  artist,  and  to  no  one  historian,  does  the 
nation  owe  so  great  a debt  of  gratitude  as  to  Trum- 
bull. His  pictures  are  much  more  than  a pictorial 
record  of  historic  events ; they  are  the  presentation  of 
those  events  in  a vivid  form  that  has  stamped  the  im- 
pression indelibly  on  the  minds  of  millions  in  the  suc- 
ceeding generations,  including  those  countless  numbers 
who  know  the  events  of  history  in  no  other  way  than 
through  monuments  of  art. 

In  a letter  to  Lafayette,  dated  New  York,  October 


6o 


PAINTINGS 


20,  1823,  Trumbull  writes  : “ I have  sent  you  . . . 

a small  case  containing  a proof  impression  ...  of  a 
print  which  has  been  engraved  here  from  my  painting 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence , by  a young  engraver 
(Asher  B.  Durand),  born  in  this  vicinity,  and  now  only 
twenty-six  years  old.  This  work  is  wholly  American, 
even  to  the  paper  and  printing — a circumstance  which 
renders  it  popular  here,  and  will  make  it  a curiosity  to 
you,  who  knew  America  when  she  had  neither  painters 
nor  engravers,  nor  arts  of  any  kind,  except  those  of 
stern  utility.” 


PORTRAIT  OF  WASHINGTON 

IN  17 92  Trumbull  painted  his  full-length  portrait  of 
General  Washington,  which  is  now  in  the  gallery 
at  New  Haven;  of  this  picture  Trumbull  writes  : “ It 
is  the  best,  certainly,  of  those  which  I painted,  and  the 
best,  in  my  estimation,  which  exists,  in  his  military 
character.”  This  portrait  was  originally  intended  for 
the  city  of  Charleston,  S.  C.,  and  was  officially  commis- 
sioned by  the  local  government ; but  their  representa- 
tive through  whom  it  was  ordered  seemed  to  think 
that  the  city  authorities  would  prefer  a portrait  of 
Washington  in  his  civic  capacity  as  president.  Trum- 
bull writes  in  his  autobiography  : “ Oppressed  as  the 
President  was  with  business  I was  reluctant  to  ask  him 
to  sit  again.  I,  however,  waited  upon  him  and  stated 
Mr.  Smith’s  objection,  and  he  cheerfully  submitted  to 
a second  penance,  adding,  c Keep  this  picture  for  your- 
self, Mr.  Trumbull,  and  finish  it  to  your  taste.’  I 
did  so,  and  another  was  painted  for  Charleston  agree- 
able to  their  taste.”  When  the  Connecticut  branch  of 
the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati  dissolved,  the  first  pic- 
ture, at  the  expense  of  some  of  the  members,  was  pre- 
sented to  Yale  College.  Doubtless  this  portrait  is 


62 


GENERAL  WASHINGTON 


YALE  SCHOOL  OF  THE  FINE  ARTS 


PAINTINGS 


more  true  to  the  normal  appearance  and  personal  char- 
acteristics of  Washington,  of  any  of  the  numerous  por- 
traits painted  from  life.  Stuart’s  Washington — the 
unfinished  portrait  now  in  the  Boston  Museum — has 
become  the  accepted  likeness  that  is  indelibly  fixed  in 
the  minds  of  the  people,  and  anything  that  varies  from 
this  is  commonly  thought  to  be  less  true.  But  in  point 
of  fact  Stuart’s  portrait  is  very  mannered,  and  the  ex- 
pressionless character  of  the  mouth  is  said  to  have  been 
due  to  an  ill-fitting  set  of  teeth  with  which  Washing- 
ton, late  in  life,  had  been  inflicted  by  his  dentist.  Nev- 
ertheless, whatever  criticism  may  be  made  of  the  Stuart 
portrait,  it  has  become  irrevocably  the  orthodox  like- 
ness known  to  the  world  as  the  portrait  of  Washing- 
ton ; and  once  the  type  becomes  fixed  in  this  way  the 
impression  is  ineradicable. 

Trumbull  claimed  that  his  portrait  represents  Wash- 
ington as  he  knew  him,  and  as  he  was  known  to  his 
associates,  the  members  of  his  military  family.  It  is  a 
good  portrait  and  many  artists  affirm  that,  from  internal 
evidence,  it  doubtless  is  the  truest  likeness  of  the  man. 
Trumbull  claimed  literalness  for  all  the  details  of  cos- 
tume likewise,  and  this  with  a dryness  of  insistence 
that  is  hardly  to  be  expected  from  an  artist  of  his  stand- 
ing or  merit.  The  horse  that  rears  in  the  background 
is  lifeless  enough  and  ill-drawn,  as  was  always  the  case 
with  his  representations  of  this  animal ; and  this  is  the 
more  noticeable  since  Trumbull  was  a good  draughts- 
man, and  the  defect  may  only  be  accounted  for  on  the 
ground  of  his  not  having  studied  the  horse  as  carefully 
as  he  studied  the  human  figure. 

63 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

Washington,  in  his  diary,  records,  between  Febru- 
ary 12th  and  July  13,  1790,  eleven  sittings  “for  Mr. 
John  Trumbull,  for  the  purpose  of  drawing  my  pic- 
ture.” Under  date  of  March  1st  he  says:  “Exer- 
cised on  horseback  this  forenoon,  attended  by  Mr. 
John  Trumbull,  who  wished  to  see  me  mounted.” 
Tuckerman,  in  his  Character  and  Portraits  of  Washing- 
ton, says  of  this  likeness : “ Ask  any  elderly  Knicker- 
bocker what  picture  will  give  you  a good  idea  of 
Washington,  and  he  will  confidently  refer  you  to 
Trumbull’s  portrait.  When  Lafayette  first  beheld  a 
replica  of  this  picture  on  his  visit  to  this  country,  in 
1824,  a few  years  before  his  death,  he  uttered  an  ex- 
clamation of  delight  at  its  resemblance.”  Of  this  por- 
trait John  Durand  wrote:  “The  portrait  of  General 
Washington  by  Trumbull,  in  the  New  Haven  collec- 
tion, must  be  regarded  as  a standard  portrait  of  the 
Father  of  his  Country.  No  artist  saw  more  of  Wash- 
ington under  circumstances  so  favorable  to  a study  of 
his  person  and  character,  and  none  was  honored  by 
him  with  more  sittings.  Trumbull  knew  Washington 
at  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  when  he  was  about  forty- 
five,  in  the  prime  of  life,  and  he  was  with  him,  as  we 
have  seen,  in  1782  and  1783,  at  New  Windsor,  on  the 
North  River,  and  it  is  said  that  he  painted  a portrait 
of  him  from  memory  when  he  went  to  England.  At 
all  events,  in  1790,  Washington  gave  him  sittings  for 
two  full-length  portraits,  one  in  civil  costume,  now  at 
Charleston,  S.  C.,  and  the  other  in  military  uniform, 
now  at  New  Haven.  . . Trumbull’s  aim  in  painting 
Washington,  he  says  in  his  memoirs,  was  “ to  preserve 

64 


PAINTINGS 


the  military  character  of  the  great  original.  . . In  the 
countenance  of  the  hero  the  likeness , the  mere  map  of 
his  face,  was  not  all  that  was  attempted;”  his  object 
was  to  give  “ the  high  resolve  stamping  on  the  face  and 
attitude  the  lofty  purpose  to  conquer  or  to  perish.” 
Whether,  in  the  effort  to  render  ideal  expression, 
Trumbull  departed  from  strict  accuracy  of  feature 
which  would  satisfy  the  realist,  is  an  open  question. 
His  Washington  differs  from  Charles  Wilson  Peak’s 
two  portraits,  one  painted  while  Washington  was  in 
the  English  service,  before  the  Revolution,  and  the 
other  during  the  war ; and  also  from  Stuart’s  portrait, 
painted  during  Washington’s  Presidential  term,  for 
which  the  artist  had  sittings  five  years  later  than 
Trumbull,  in  1795. 


LIST  OF  HISTORICAL  PAINTINGS,  POR- 
TRAITS, MINIATURES,  AND  OTHER 
WORKS  OF  ART,  BY  JOHN 
TRUMBULL 

(IN  THE  YALE  SCHOOL  OF  FINE  ARTS,  NEW  HAVEN,  CONN.) 

i Battle  of  Bunker’s  Hill,  June  17,  1775:  size 
of  canvas,  25x36  inches:  painted  in  1787  : con- 
taining portraits  of  General  Joseph  Warren, 
General  Israel  Putnam — Americans ; and  of 
General  Howe,  General  Clinton,  Major  Pitcairn, 
Colonel  Small,  and  Lieutenant  Pitcairn — British. 

o.  The  Death  of  Montgomery,  in  the  attack  on 
Quebec,  December  31,  1775:  size  of  canvas, 
25x36  inches:  painted  in  1787  : containing  por- 
traits of  General  Montgomery,  Major  McPher- 
son and  Captain  Cheesman. 

3 The  Declaration  of  Independence,  July  4> 
1776:  size  of  canvas,  20x30  inches:  painted 
during  the  years  1787  to  1795  : containing  por- 
traits of  George  Wythe  (Va.);  William  Whip- 
ple (N.  H.);  Josiah  Bartlett  (N.  H.) ; Benja- 
min Harrison  (Va.) ; Thomas  Lynch  (S.  C.) ; 
Richard  Henry  Lee  (Va.) ; Samuel  Adams 
(Mass.) ; George  Clinton  (N.  Y.) ; William 


66 


PAINTINGS 


Paca  (Md.) ; Samuel  Chase  (Md.);  Lewis  Mor- 
ris (N.  Y.) ; William  Floyd  (N.  Y.);  Arthur 
Middleton  (S.  C.) ; Thomas  Hayward  (S.  C.) ; 
Charles  Carroll  (Md.) ; George  Walton  (Va.); 
Robert  Morris  (Penna.) ; Thomas  Willing 
(Penna.) ; Benjamin  Rush  (Penna.) ; Elbridge 
Gerry  (Mass.);  Robert  Treat  Paine  (Mass.); 
Abraham  Clark  (N.  J.) ; Stephen  Hopkins 
(R.  I.);  William  Ellery  (R.  I.);  George  Cly- 
mer  (Penna.) ; William  Hooper  (N.  C.) ; Joseph 
Hewes  (N.  C.) ; James  Wilson  (Penna.) ; Fran- 
cis Hopkinson  (N.  J.) ; John  Adams  (Mass.) ; 
Roger  Sherman  (Conn.);  Robert  R.  Livingston 
(N.  Y.)  ; Thomas  Jefferson  (Va.) ; Benjamin 
Franklin  (Penna.) ; Richard  Stockton  (N.  J.) ; 
Francis  Lewis  (N.  Y.) ; John  Witherspoon 
(N.  J.);  Samuel  Huntington  (Conn.);  William 
Williams  (Conn.);  Oliver  Wolcott  (Conn.); 
John  Hancock  (Mass.);  Charles  Thompson 
(Penna.) ; George  Reed  (Del.) ; John  Dickinson 
(Del.) ; Edward  Rutledge  (S.  C.) ; Thomas  Mc- 
Kean (Penna.)  ; and  Philip  Livingston  (N.  Y.) ; 
(arranged  in  the  order  of  the  numbering  of  the 
key.) 

Surrender  of  Lord  Cornwallis,  October  19, 
1781:  size,  20x30  inches:  painted  in  1787, 
containing  portraits  of  Count  Deuxponts,  Duke 
de  Laval  Montmorency,  Count  Custine,  Duke 
de  Lauzun,  General  de  Choisy,  Viscount  Vio- 
menil,  Marquis  de  St.  Simon,  Count  Fersen, 
Count  Charles  Damas,  Marquis  de  Chastellux, 

67 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

Baron  de  Viomenil,  Count  de  Barras,  Count  de 
Grasse,  Count  Rochambeau,  General  Lincoln, 
Colonel  Ebenezer  Stevens,  General  Washington, 
Thomas  Nelson,  Marquis  de  La  Fayette,  Baron 
Steuben,  Colonel  Cobb,  Colonel  Jonathan 
Trumbull,  Major-General  James  Clinton,  Gen- 
eral Gist,  General  Anthony  Wayne,  General 
Hand,  General  Peter  Muhlenberg,  Major- 
General  Henry  Knox,  Lieutenant-Colonel  E. 
Huntington,  Colonel  Timothy  Pickering,  Colo- 
nel Alexander  Hamilton,  Colonel  John  Lau- 
rens, Colonel  Walter  Stuart  and  Colonel 
Nicholas  Fish  (arranged  in  the  order  of  the  key). 

5 Capture  of  the  Hessians  at  Trenton,  Decem- 

ber 26,  1776:  size  of  canvas,  20x30  inches: 
painted  179 5 to  1799:  containing  portraits  of 
Colonel  Wigglesworth, Colonel  Shepherd, Colo- 
nel Parker,  James  Monroe, Colonel  Rohl  (of  the 
Hessians),  Colonel  William  Smith,  Colonel  Har- 
rison, Colonel  Tilghman,  General  Washington, 
General  Sullivan,  General  Green,  General  Knox, 
Brigadier-General  Philemon  Dickerson,  Briga- 
dier-General Glover,  Brigadier-General  Weldon 
and  Lieutenant  William  Washington  (in  the 
order  of  the  numbering  of  the  key). 

6 The  Battle  of  Princeton,  January  3,  1777: 

size  of  canvas,  20x30  inches : painted  about 
1795  : containing  portraits  of  Brigadier-General 
Mifflin,  Lieutenant  Trumbull,  Dr.  Rush,  Colo- 
nel Cadwallader,  General  Washington,  Briga- 
dier-General Mercer,  Colonel  B.  G.  Eyre,  and 


68 


SURRENDER  OF  LORD  CORNWALLIS 


PAINTINGS 


Captain  Leslie  of  the  Grenadiers  (in  the  order 
of  the  key). 

6a  Battle  of  Princeton  : spirited  sketch  in  color 
on  canvas,  25x36. 

7 Surrender  of  General  Burgoyne,  October  16, 

1777  : size,  20x30  inches  : containing  portraits 
of  Major  Lithgow,  Colonel  Cilley,  General 
Stark,  Captain  Seymour,  Major  Hull,  Colonel 
Greaton,  Major  Dearborn,  Colonel  Scammell, 
Colonel  Lewis,  Major-General  Phillips  (Brit- 
ish), Lieutenant-General  Burgoyne  (British), 
General  Baron  Reidesel  (German),  Colonel 
Wilkinson,  General  Gates,  Colonel  Prescott, 
Colonel  Morgan,  Brigadier-General  Rufus  Put- 
nam, Lieutenant-Colonel  John  Brooks,  Rev. 
Mr.  Hitchcock  (Chaplain),  Major  Robert 
Troup,  Major  Haskell,  Major  Armstrong, 
Major-General  Philip  Schuyler,  Brigadier-Gen- 
eral Glover,  Brigadier-General  Whipple,  Major 
Matthew  Clarkson  and  Major  Ebenezer  Stevens 
(in  the  order  of  the  numbering  of  the  key). 

8 Resignation  of  General  Washington,  Decern. 

ber  23,  1783  : size,  20x30  inches:  containing 
portraits  of  Thomas  Mifflin,  Charles  Thomson, 
Elbridge  Gerry,  Hugh  Williamson,  Samuel 
Osgood,  Eleazer  McComb,  George  Partridge, 
Edward  Lloyd,  Richard  D.  Spaight,  Benjamin 
Hawkins,  Abiel  Foster,  Thomas  Jefferson, 
Arthur  Lee,  David  Howell,  James  Monroe, 
Jacob  Reid,  James  Madison,  William  Ellery, 
Jeremiah  T.  Chase,  Samuel  Hardy,  Charles 

69 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

Morris,  General  Washington,  Colonel  Benjamin 
Walker,  Colonel  David  Humphreys,  General 
Smallwood,  General  Otho  H.  Williams,  Colonel 
Samuel  Smith,  Colonel  John  E.  Howard, 
Charles  Carroll  and  two  daughters,  Mrs. 
Washington  and  three  grandchildren,  Daniel 
(of  St.  Thomas  Jennifer)  arranged  in  the  order 
of  the  key. 

9 General  George  Washington  : full-length  por- 
trait : size  of  canvas,  63x92^  inches  : painted 
in  1790. 

10  President  Washington  : painted  at  Philadelphia 

in  1793  : size  of  canvas,  24x30  inches. 

11  Alexander  Hamilton  ; copied  in  1832  from  the 

original  painted  in  1792  : size  of  canvas,  24x30 
inches. 

12  The  Duke  of  Wellington.  Size  of  canvas, 

24x32  inches. 

13  Mrs.  Trumbull,  wife  of  the  artist:  size  of  can- 

vas, 25^x32  inches. 

14  Hon.  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer.  Size  of  can- 

vas, 271^x35)^2  inches. 

15  Timothy  Dwight,  1792.  President  of  Yale  Col- 

lege : size  of  canvas,  40x50  inches. 

16  Governor  Jonathan  Trumbull,  Sr.  Size  of 

canvas,  40x50  inches. 

17  Rufus  King.  Size  of  canvas,  25x30  inches. 

18  Christopher  Gore:  painted  in  1804:  size  of 

canvas,  25x30  inches. 

19  D uke  of  Buckingham.  Size  of  canvas,  28x33 

inches. 


70 


20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

25 

26 

27 

28 

29 

30 

31 

32 

33 

34 

35 

36 

37 

38 

39 

40 

41 

42 

43 

44 

45 

46 


PAINTINGS 

OIL  MINIATURES  ON  WOOD 

Henry  Laurens,  Pres’t.  of  Congress,  1791. 

John  Jay,  Chief  Justice  U.  S.,  1793. 

John  Adams,  Vice-Pres.,  U.  S.,  1792. 

George  Hammond,  Minister  from  Great  Britain, 

J792- 

Temple  Franklin,  grandson  of  Dr.  Franklin,  1791. 
Nathanael  Greene,  Brigadier-General,  1792. 

Col.  William  Hull,  1792. 

Col.  Thomas  Stevens,  1791. 

Capt.  Thomas  Seymour,  1792. 

Gen.  John  Brooks,  1790. 

Rufus  King,  U.  S.  Senator,  1792. 

Fisher  Ames,  M.  C.,  1792. 

The  Infant,  a chief  of  the  Six  Nations,  1792. 

John  Langdon,  U.  S.  Senator,  1792. 

John  Brown,  U.  S.  Rep.,  1792. 

Harriet  Wadsworth,  1791. 

Faith  Trumbull,  1791. 

Mrs.  Trumbull,  Lebanon,  Conn.,  1793. 
Catherine  Wadsworth,  1792. 

Julia  Seymour,  1792. 

Signr.  Cerracchi,  Sculptor,  1792. 

T.  Dalton,  U.  S.  Senator,  1792. 

The  Young  Sachem,  a chief  of  the  Six  Nations, 
ij92. 

Theo.  Sedgwick,  M.  C.,  1791. 

Oliver  Ellsworth,  U.  S.  Senator,  1792. 

Gen.  O.  H.  Williams,  1790. 

Thomas  Pinckney,  1791. 


71 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

47  Judge  Rutledge,  1791. 

48  Charles  C.  Pinckney,  1791. 

49  Gen.  Wm.  Moultrie,  1791. 

50  William  Smith,  M.  C.,  1792. 

51  Rufus  Putnam,  Brig.-Gen.,  1790. 

52  Jacob  Reed,  M.  C.,  1790. 

53  R.  Izard,  U.  S.  Senator,  1791. 

54  Col.  Grimke,  1791. 

55  Eleanor  Custis,  1792. 

56  Cornelia  Schuyler,  1792. 

57  Mrs.  Washington,  1792. 

58  Sophia  Chew,  1793. 

59  Harriet  Chew,  1793. 

60  Brig.-Gen.  Smallwood,  1792. 

61  Maj.  Haskell,  1791. 

62  Col.  Morgan  of  the  Rifle  Corps,  1792. 

63  Judge  E.  Benson,  M.  C.,  1792. 

64  Philip  Schuyler,  Maj. -Gen.,  1792. 

65  Jonathan  Trumbull,  Speaker  of  U.  S.  House  of 

Rep’s.,  1792. 

66  Jonathan  Trumbull,  Sr.,  Governor  of  Connecticut 

during  the  Revolution. 

67  Good  Peter,  a chief  of  the  Six  Nations. 

68  Dr.  Lemuel  Hopkins  of  Hartford,  Ct.,  Poet  and 

Physician,  1793. 

69  John  Trumbull,  Author  of  “ McFingal,”  1794. 

70  Judge  Oakley,  1827. 

71  Henry  Dwight,  M.  C.,  1827. 

72  J.  C.  Calhoun,  V.  Pres.,  U.  S.,  1827. 

73  Dr.  Allen,  1827. 

74  D.  B.  Ogden,  1827. 


72 


RESIGNATION  OF  W ASHNGTON 


PAINTINGS 


75  Maj. -Gen.  Mifflin,  Pres,  of  Cong.,  1783. 

76  S.  Livermore,  U.  S.  Senator,  1791. 

77  Capt.  Manning,  1791. 

78  Gen.  Richard  Butler,  1790. 

79  Arthur  Lee,  1790. 

80  The  Woman  taken  in  Adultery  : size  of  canvas, 

72x96  inches:  painted  in  London,  1808-1812. 

81  St.  John  and  Lamb  : from  memory  of  picture  by 

Murillo. 

82  The  Earl  of  Angus  conferring  Knighthood  on  De 

Wilton  ; size  of  canvas,  72x90  inches  ; painted 
in  London,  1808-1812.  (Sir  Walter  Scott’s 
“ Marmion.”) 

83  Holy  Family. 

84  Infant  Saviour  and  St.  John. 

85  Lamderg  and  Gelchossa,  Ossian’s  poem.  Size  of 

canvas,  60x90  inches. 

86  Maternal  Tenderness. 

87  Our  Saviour  with  Little  Children  : size  of  canvas, 

68x96  inches,  painted  in  London,  1808-1812. 

88  Peter  the  Great  at  the  Capture  of  Narva. 

89  The  Holy  Family,  Virgin  and  Infant  Saviour,  and 

Joseph  the  Carpenter,  St.  John  with  his  Lamb  : 
copy. 

90  Joshua  at  the  Battle  of  Ai,  attended  by  Death. 

91  The  Last  Family  who  Perished  in  the  Deluge. 

92  “I  was  in  Prison  and  ye  came  unto  me.” 

93  Copy  of  the  Transfiguration  by  Raphael. 

94  Copy  of  Correggio’s  picture  called  St.  Jerome  at 

Parma.  (Painted  in  Tothill  Fields  Prison, 


73 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

near  London,  where  the  artist  was  confined  on 
charge  of  High  Treason  during  the  winter  of 
178  !•) 

95  Copy  of  the  “ Madonna  della  Sedia,”  painted 

under  direction  of  Mr.  West. 

96  Copy  of  Domenichino’s  Communion  of  St.  Je- 

rome. 

97  Preparing  the  Body  of  our  Saviour  for  the  Tomb. 

98  Copy  of  Raphael’s  Madonna  au  Corset  Rouge. 

99  Our  Saviour  Bearing  the  Cross  and  sinking  un- 

der its  weight. 

100  The  Death  of  Paulus  iEmilius  at  the  Battle  of 
Cannae.  (Painted  at  Lebanon,  1774,  at  the  age 
of  eighteen,  before  the  artist  had  received  any 
instruction.  The  composition  is  all  that  is  or- 
iginal ; the  figures  were  chosen  from  various  en- 
gravings.) 

PORTRAITS  AND  PICTURES  IN  OTHER 
COLLECTIONS 

Portrait  of  Washington:  full-length:  City  Hall, 
New  York  City. 

Alexander  Hamilton:  full-length:  City  Hall,  New 
York. 

General  George  Clinton  : full-length  : City  Hall, 
New  York. 

John  Jay:  full-length:  City  Hall,  New  York. 

Sortie  from  Gibraltar,  November  27, 1871.  Owned 
by  the  Boston  Athenaeum  : now  in  the  Boston 
Museum  of  Art:  size,  72x108  inches.  There 


74 


OIL  SKETCH  FOR  THE  BATTLE  OF  PRINCETON 


PAINTINGS 


are  five  known  replicas  of  this  picture,  all  of 
different  sizes. 

Portrait  of  Alexander  Hamilton  : Metropolitan 
Museum  of  Art,  New  York. 

Portrait  of  Alexander  Hamilton  : Boston  Muse- 
um of  Art. 

Portrait  of  Alexander  Hamilton  : Mrs.  Henry 
Cabot,  Boston.  Owned  by  Mrs.  Pendleton, 
Hosack,  N.  Y. 

Stephen  Minot:  Boston  Museum  of  Art. 

Mrs.  Stephen  Minot:  Boston  Museum  of  Art. 

Governor  Lewis:  City  Hall,  New  York. 

Sortie  from  Gibraltar,  canvas,  36x44 : owned  by 
Mr.  William  A.  Burnham,  of  Boston. 

Sortie  from  Gibraltar:  given  to  Benjamin  West : 
whereabouts  now  unknown. 

Replica  made  for  William  Sharp  to  engrave  from, 
owned  by  Robert  O’Neill,  Wickersham. 

Sortie  from  Gibraltar,  26x36:  owned  by  Mr.  J. 
M.  Fox,  of  Philadelphia. 

Replica  of  Battle  of  Bunker’s  Hill  : owned  by  the 
Wadsworth  Athenaeum,  Hartford,  Conn.  (The 
series  at  Hartford  were  painted  about  1832.) 
Size,  72x108  inches. 

Replica  of  the  Battle  of  Trenton  : owned  by  the 
Wadsworth  Athenaeum.  Size,  72x108  inches: 
painted  late  in  life. 

Replica  of  the  Battle  of  Princeton  : owned  by  the 
Wadsworth  Athenaeum.  Size,  72x108  inches  : 
painted  late  in  life. 

Replica  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence: 


75 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

owned  by  the  Wadsworth  Athenaeum.  Size, 
72x108  : painted  late  in  life. 

Replica  of  the  Death  of  Montgomery  : owned  by 
the  Wadsworth  Athenaeum. 

Holy  Family  : owned  by  the  Wadsworth  Athenaeum. 
Col.  Wadsworth  and  His  Son:  1784:  replica: 

Wadsworth  Athenaeum. 

Col.  Samuel  Osgood,  owned  by  M.  Augustus  Field, 
of  New  York. 

Mrs.  Samuel  Osgood,  owned  by  M.  Augustus  Field, 
of  New  York. 

Jonathan  Trumbull  Hudson  : owned  by  Mrs. 

Elizabeth  McK.  Hudson,  Stratford,  Conn. 
Mrs.  J.  T.  Hudson  : owned  by  Mrs.  Elizabeth  McK. 
Hudson,  Stratford,  Conn. 

Miniature  : owned  by  Robert  W.  DeForest,  New 
York. 

Hon.  Thos.  Russell  and  His  Wife,  afterward  Lady 
Temple : owned  by  Mr.  Richard  Sullivan,  of 
Boston. 

Mrs.  George  Codwise  (Miss  Van  Rantz)  : owned  by 
Mrs.  Beatrice  Codwise. 

Mrs.  James  Codwise  (Miss  Rogers) : owned  by  Mrs. 
Beatrice  Codwise. 

Mrs.  Trumbull  on  her  death-bed:  owned  by  Mrs. 
Lanman,  Norwich,  Conn. 

John  M.  Trumbull,  nephew  of  Col.  Trumbull  : 
painted  in  London,  in  the  artist’s  best  manner : 
owned  by  Wm.  H.  Lee,  Minneapolis,  Minn. 
Portrait  : owned  by  Mrs.  Augustus  B.  Field,  of 
New  York. 


76 


PAINTINGS 

Portrait  : owned  by  Mrs.  Augustus  B.  Field,  of 
New  York. 

Portrait:  owned  by  Miss  Anna  Eddy,  of  Eddys- 
ville,  Mass. 

Portrait  : owned  by  Miss  Anna  Eddy,  of  Eddys- 
ville,  Mass. 

John  Trumbull:  painted  in  1833:  owned  by  Mrs. 
Benjamin  Silliman,  New  York. 

Rev.  D.  Smalley  : owned  by  the  Historical  Society, 
New  York. 

Asher  B.  Durand  : owned  by  the  Historical  Society, 
New  York. 

Bryan  Rossiter  (in  military  uniform)  painted  in  1790  : 
owned  by  the  Historical  Society,  New  York 
City. 

Miniature  of  John  Lawrence,  owned  by  the  His- 
torical Society,  New  York. 

John  Pintard  : painted  in  1816. 

President  Washington,  National  Museum,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C. 

Mrs.  Washington,  National  Museum,  Washington, 
D.  C. 

Original  Study  for  Portrait  of  Washington  and  his 
horse  : size,  25x33  : owned  by  Mr.  Fernando 
Jones,  Chicago,  111. 

Portrait:  deposited  in  the  Museum  of  the  Brooklyn 
Institute. 

Brutus  (early  attempt) : Wadsworth  Athenaeum,  Hart- 
ford, Conn. 

The  Falls  of  Niagara:  2 studies:  Wadsworth 

Athenaeum,  Hartford,  Conn. 


77 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

Mrs.  L.  H.  Sigourney:  size,  25x30 : Wadsworth 
Athenaeum. 

Gov.  and  Mrs.  Jonathan  Trumbull,  Sr.:  size, 
50x40  : Wadsworth  Athenaeum. 

Copy  of  Rubens’  Elevation  of  the  Cross  : size, 
42^x59^  : Wadsworth  Athenaeum. 

Portrait  of  an  Artist  : size,  25x30  (one  of  his  best 
portraits) : Wadsworth  Athenaeum. 

Copy  of  Titian’s  Scourging  of  Christ:  size, 
28^x45^  • Wadsworth  Athenaeum. 

The  Duke  of  Wellington  : Wadsworth  Athenaeum. 

Gen.  David  Humphreys  : size,  20x24  : Wadsworth 
Athenaeum. 

Gov.  Jonathan  Trumbull  : size,  20x24:  Wadsworth 
Athenaeum. 

Infant  Saviour  and  St.  John  : figures  copied  from 
Raphael:  size,  25x30:  Wadsworth  Athenaeum. 

Mrs.  Lynde  : owned  by  Mrs.  Susan  L.  Oliver,  of 
Boston. 

Mrs.  Christopher  Gore  : owned  by  Mrs.  Samuel  T. 
Morse,  of  Boston. 

Small  Full-Length  of  Washington:  Size,  25x30; 
painted  in  London  ; probably  the  one  done 
from  memory:  owned  by  Mr.  Charles  A. 
Munn,  New  York.  Formerly  belonged  to  M. 
de  Neufville,  of  Amsterdam  : Engraved  by 
Valentine  Green. 

Mrs.  Nathaniel  Prime  : owned  by  Mr.  Francis  C. 
Lowell,  of  Boston. 

Lady  of  the  Lake:  owned  by  Mr.  Wm.  C.  Lan- 
man,  Norwich,  Conn. 


78 


PAINTINGS 


Mr.  George  Gallagher:  owned  by  Dr.  Geo.  G. 
Hopkins,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Portrait,  owned  by  Mrs.  Edward  B.  Huntington, 
Norwich,  Conn. 

Portrait,  owned  by  Mrs.  Edward  B.  Huntington, 
Norwich,  Conn. 

Thomas  Russell,  Esq.,  owned  by  Mr.  Richard  Sulli- 
van, Boston. 

Mrs.  Thomas  Russell,  owned  by  Mr.  Richard  Sulli- 
van, Boston. 

The  Declaration  of  Independence:  size,  12x18 
feet : in  the  Rotunda  of  the  Capitol,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C. 

The  Surrender  of  Burgoyne  : size,  12x18  feet:  in 
the  Rotunda  of  the  Capitol,  Washington,  D.  C. 

The  Surrender  of  Lord  Cornwallis:  size,  12x18 
feet : in  the  Rotunda  of  the  Capitol,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C. 

Washington  Resigning  His  Commission  : size, 
12x18  feet:  in  the  Rotunda  of  the  Capitol, 
Washington,  D.  C. 

(These  four  pictures  were  commissioned  by  Congress 
in  1816  and  the  last  was  completed  in  1824.) 

Portrait  of  a Lady  : Lenox  Library,  N.  Y. 

Priam  and  the  Body  of  Hector:  Boston  Athe- 
naeum. 

Portrait  of  Mr.  Rogers  : owned  by  Mr.  Ward 
Hunt. 

Portrait  of  Judge  Samuel  Miles  Hopkins:  size, 
40x50  inches:  owned  by  Dr.  Geo.  G.  Hopkins, 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


79 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

Mrs.  Sarah  Elizabeth  Hopkins:  owned  by  Dr. 

Geo.  G.  Hopkins,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Dr.  Lemuel  Hopkins  : owned  by  Dr.  Geo.  G. 
Hopkins,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Francis  Taylor  Winthrop:  owned  by  Mrs.  Deane 
Pratt,  Saybrook,  Conn. 

Mrs.  F.  T.  Winthrop:  owned  by  Mrs.  Deane 
Pratt,  Saybrook,  Conn. 


CERTIFICATE  OF  COLONEL  TRUMBULL’S  MEMBERSHIP  IN  THE 
SOCIETY  OF  THE  CINCINNATI 


3 3125  00021  3088 


